Heatwave and high winds drive new wildfires across southern Europe, forcing thousands to evacuate from France to Turkey

A blistering heatwave combined with powerful winds has ignited a fresh wave of wildfires across southern Europe, stretching emergency services from the Atlantic coast of France to the Turkish Riviera. The fires have killed at least two firefighters in Greece, forced thousands of residents and tourists to flee, and scorched tens of thousands of hectares of land, with authorities warning that the danger is far from over.

Greece: fatalities and coastal evacuations

Multiple wildfires are burning across Greece, with the most severe concentrated in the south of the island of Crete. Two firefighters died there when their vehicle lost orientation in dense smoke. Wind speeds were so high that water-dropping helicopters and planes were forced to turn back and land. By the evening of 29 July, the popular resort town of Agia Galini was evacuated alongside several mountain villages. Greek media reported that around 6,000 tourists were affected. Further west, in the coastal settlement of Agios Pavlos, the coast guard evacuated 29 people by sea. The Bürgerschutzministerium has warned that strong winds will persist across much of Greece in the coming days, keeping the wildfire risk extremely high. In the east of Crete near Sitia, a large fire was brought under control, and a fire on the island of Lesbos was also contained.

The strong winds are expected to continue in large parts of Greece in the coming days.

Spain: national emergency lifted but new fronts open

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the end of the national state of emergency on 29 July, citing an improved situation around the Burgohondo fire in Ávila and Madrid, which had devastated more than 50,000 hectares. However, new and dangerous outbreaks were reported in the northwest. In the province of Zamora, a fire in Fermoselle inside the Arribes del Duero National Park on the Portuguese border prompted the evacuation of twelve localities and around 950 residents. Three additional fires are active in the province of León, in Valdelaloba, San Cipriano del Condado and Veguellina. The regional government of Castile and León announced a relief plan with 42 measures and a budget of approximately 90 million euros, to be increased over the summer. Despite the overall improvement, 9,500 people in the Autonomous Community of Madrid are still unable to return to their homes.

In the short term, we cannot be optimistic.

France: new outbreaks from Burgundy to the Atlantic

France is battling around 40 active fires, according to French media. In the southern department of Var, near the town of Brignoles, 600 to 700 people were evacuated. A new fire was also reported in the forest of Fontainebleau, south of Paris, an area already scarred by a large blaze two weeks earlier. In Burgundy, a fire near Couchey, close to Dijon, had burned 125 hectares by the morning of 30 July, with authorities urging residents to stay indoors and keep windows and doors shut due to hazardous smoke. On the Atlantic coast near Bordeaux, where the season's largest fires have already consumed 42,000 hectares, a major deployment prevented a fresh spread. The prefecture expressed hope of "a return to normality for residents and businesses." Two people were arrested in the Bordeaux area on suspicion of arson, Reuters reported.

Turkey: multiple provinces under threat

In southern Turkey, firefighters have been battling several blazes in the tourist region of Antalya since 28 July. Most of the fires have been brought under control, according to President Erdoğan, but some residential areas were reached, leading to precautionary evacuations. The governor of Antalya, Hulusi Sahin, attributed the fires to extreme heat, strong winds and dry air. Fires were also reported in the western provinces of Balikesir, Kütahya, Canakkale and Yalova, south of Istanbul, as well as a large fire in the southwestern province of Mugla.