Two dead as wildfires sweep Greek island of Salamina amid Europe-wide fire crisis

Deadly fires on Salamina

Two people believed to be an elderly couple died on the Greek island of Salamina on Sunday, August 16, 2026, when two wildfires erupted almost simultaneously near popular beaches at Peristeria and Selinia, in the south and east of the island. The fires broke out during Greece's peak summer holiday weekend around the August 15 Assumption holiday, when the island's beaches were crowded with Athenians visiting from the nearby port of Piraeus. Fire department communication director Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said the two distinct fires started within about 20 minutes of each other. With wind gusts reaching 61 km/h, the blaze spread with extreme speed.

It spread rapidly in seven minutes.

The two victims died before firefighters could reach them; their identities had not yet been confirmed. Nine people received medical treatment for burns, according to the national news agency ANA, and five were taken to a local health clinic. Greek television broadcast images of several houses completely destroyed.

Evacuation and firefighting response

Greek media immediately raised the possibility of arson, citing the near-simultaneous outbreak of two fires at separate locations. The civil protection ministry issued four evacuation orders in quick succession. More than 570 people were evacuated aboard coast guard patrol boats and other vessels, according to a coast guard spokesperson. Between 200 and 260 firefighters were mobilized, supported by 10 to 14 aircraft and helicopters, volunteer crews and municipal water tankers. Coast guard and firefighting vessels were dispatched to the island, with preparations for possible sea evacuations from threatened coastal areas. Deputy mayor Thodoris Zannis told ERT television that firefighters, navigating rocky terrain, managed to prevent the two fires from merging into a single large front. A fire service spokesperson told AFP that the Selinia blaze was controlled by evening, though isolated hotspots persisted at Peristeria. Salamina, home to about 37,000 residents, many of them elderly, had been under a high wildfire risk warning.

Skyros fire largely controlled

On the Aegean island of Skyros, about 110 km northeast of Athens, a separate fire that began Saturday at midday in the Atsitsa area was nearing control by Sunday afternoon. An employee of the forestry service, speaking anonymously to AFP, estimated the destroyed forest area at nearly 1,300 hectares. About 100 firefighters with 11 aircraft and five helicopters were deployed. Mayor Kyriakos Antonopoulos described the fire as partially controlled and cited a strong suspicion of arson, mainly due to the fire's starting point.

Broader European fire crisis

Across Greece, 34 wildfires broke out in the 24 hours preceding the Salamina blaze, according to the fire service. Earlier in August, a fire northwest of Athens burned more than 11,000 hectares and took five days to control. In Belgium, a fire in the Hautes Fagnes nature reserve scorched roughly 30 square kilometres, surpassing the 2011 record of about 14 square kilometres that had been the country's largest recorded wildfire. European Commissioner for Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib announced on X that Belgium activated the EU civil protection mechanism; Sweden dispatched two water-bomber aircraft, while the Netherlands and Czech Republic sent three helicopters. In France, firefighters in the Landes department reported no major flare-ups overnight, according to prefect Gilles Clavreul.