Athens, Greece (AP) – Wildfires intensified Beyond Southern Europe At least three deaths were reported in Spain, Turkey and Albania on Wednesday after an overnight battle to protect the boundaries of Greece’s third largest city.
Outside the Greek port city of Patras, firefighters struggled to protect their homes and farm facilities as flames tear through feather forests and olive fields. A tall column of flame exploded behind an apartment block on the outskirts of the city, but as the flames cleaned a nearby reservoir, dozens of vehicles were torched.
“Today is another very difficult day where fire risk levels remain very high in many parts of the country,” said fire service spokesman Vassilis Vathrakoyiannis.
As water-dropping planes and helicopters swooped overhead, residents joined the effort, cutting branches to defeat the flames or sucking up a bucket of water.
After the heat wave, resources grew thinly
Fire resources in many affected countries have faded as they fought multiple outbreaks after weeks of heat waves and temperature spikes across the Mediterranean. On Chios, Greece, exhausted firefighters slept on the side of the road after a night shift.
The aircraft rotated between the flames of the Patras region, the island of Zakynthos, the island of mainland West Greece. Athens also sent support to the neighborhood Albaniaparticipate in international efforts to combat dozens of wildfires. Tirana said Wednesday.
Residents of the four villages were evacuated in central Albania, near the former Army ammunition depot. An explosion was reported from buried World War I-era artillery shelling in the southern part of the Cauca near the Greek border. Authorities said dozens of homes have been destroyed in the central part of the country.
Deaths in Spain and Türkiye
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez He expressed his appreciation for sadness after the deaths of fire volunteers in the Hardhit Castile and Leon regions, north of Madrid.
“The wildfire situation remains serious and it is essential to take extra precautions,” Sanchez wrote in an online post. “Another thank you to all those who work tirelessly to fight the flames.”
The evacuation centre was full of capacity in parts of central Spain, with some people able to spend their time outdoors in foldable beds. The most severe fires were pushed into more rural areas northward. There, some residents tried to hos the walls of the houses and protect them from fire.
The government has prepared additional support for local authorities that will raise national emergency response levels and oversee multiple evacuations and highway closures.
A forestry worker was killed on Wednesday in response to a wildfire in southern Türkiye, officials said. The Forestry Ministry said the workers were killed in an accident involving a fire truck in which four other people were injured.
Turkey has been fighting harsh wildfires since late June. A total of 18 people died, including 10 rescue volunteers and forestry workers who died in July.
France, which has recovered from recent major fires in the southern region, has expected temperatures of up to 42 degrees (F 108) for the third day in a row. The authorities issued weather warnings that local governments will cancel public events and give local government discretion to code areas at high risk of fire.
Thunderstorms and agricultural practices are cited as possible causes
Authorities in European countries have cited multiple causes of large-scale fires, including careless agricultural practices, improperly maintained power cables, and summer lightning.
North Macedonian law enforcement officials also cited signs of arson motivated by the Rogue developer. Firefighters struggled to contain the flames in Skopje, a nature reserve outside the capital on Wednesday.
The European Union is rushing to help fire countries, including non-member states, including ground crews and aircraft that drop water. Much of the recent effort has been concentrated in Montenegro, where large wildfires continued to burn in the rugged area near the capital Podgorica.
“Natural disasters don’t know the border,” said Luban Tomsick, Montenegro’s Civil Protection Agency Commissioner. “In Montenegro, the resources we have are clearly not enough.” – Semini reported from Tirana, Albania. Contributors were Suman Naishadam of Madrid, Andrew Wilkes of Istanbul, Sylvie Corbett of Paris, and Constantine Testorides of Skopje in North Macedonia.
