Fires in Europe

The most devastating emergency involved the massive fire front spanning the provinces of Ávila, Madrid and Toledo, where the flames consumed 44,000 hectares, making it officially the most destructive wildfire in the country’s recent history. A second massive fire in central Spain has ravaged the province of Guadalajara, in the La Mierla area: 35,000 hectares of woodland have been destroyed and thousands of residents have been evacuated from small rural villages besieged by the flames. New fires and active blazes continue to keep the fire service on high alert in the inland and eastern regions, whilst temperatures exceeding 40 degrees and hot winds are hampering rescue efforts.

In Crete, in the Rethymno region, a massive wildfire has burnt over 4,500 hectares of vegetation, forcing the evacuation by sea of more than 8,000 people, including residents and tourists. Three firefighters died whilst carrying out their duties. On the island of Paros, a fire broke out in the Kambi area, near the island’s landfill site, spreading rapidly through the dry vegetation, fuelled by high temperatures and strong winds. Several small villages were evacuated.

In France, the worst wildfire crisis since the Second World War has affected the south-western region of Gironde, home to one of Europe’s largest forest areas. The fires, which broke out between Saumos, Le Porge and the outskirts of Bordeaux, have burnt over 40,000 hectares of woodland, forcing the evacuation of 220,000 people. Paris deployed over 4,000 firefighters, supported by national tanker aircraft and aircraft sent to assist by other EU partners. A rare atmospheric phenomenon was also observed, which further complicated the fire-fighting operations. The intense heat contributed to the formation of a storm cloud, capable of generating gusts of wind, lightning strikes and new fire outbreaks.