Mediterranean wildfires: At least 40 killed as blazes continue to spread in Portugal and Spain

Firefighters have been battling flames across the Mediterranean as villages and holiday resorts are evacuated
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Josh Salisbury26 July 2023

Wildfires have been burning in at least eight countries across Europe and North Africa with firefighters across the region battling on Wednesday to put out blazes.

At least 40 people have died, the majority in Algeria, where at least 34 people have been killed. In Croatia, flames came within less than eight miles of the country’s historic town of Dubrovnik on Tuesday.

In Greece, around 20,000 people have by now had to leave homes and resorts in Rhodes, while over 3,000 holidaymakers including Brits returned home by plane amid a blistering heatwave.

Greece

GREECE-FIRE-ENVIRONMENT-CLIMATE-WEATHER
A man reacts as a fire burns into the village of Gennadi on Rhodes on July 25
AFP via Getty Images

Greece has been particularly hard hit by the wildfires. The Civil Protection Ministry warned of an “extreme danger” of fire in six of the country’s 13 regions on Wednesday.

Crete, the largest of the Greek Islands, has been put on high alert because of the risk of fire, while the Foreign Office has advised Brits to ensure they have appropriate insurance before visiting Greece.

Two Greek air force pilots died on Tuesday afternoon after a plane crashed while they were battling a forest fire near Platanistos on the island of Evia, east of Athens.

Algeria

A forest ranger works to douse hotspots in an area hit by a wildfire, in Adekar
A forest ranger works to douse hotspots in an area hit by a wildfire, in Adekar
REUTERS

A bush fire that has been raging in Algeria’s forests was beginning to be contained, the country’s state TV reported on Wednesday.

Wildfires across regions of the country have claimed the lives of at least 34 people and forced about 1,500 people to evacuate their homes, amid a major heatwave.

The worst affected region was coastal area Bejaia where 23 of the fatalities occurred, including ten soldiers who were encircled by flames during an evacuation.

Italy

Wildfires in the region of Palermo in Sicily on July 25
AP

Italy has been hit by contrasting weather events, with wildfires in Sicily and other regions in the south, but storms in the north.

On the island of Sicily, two people were found dead Tuesday in a home burned by a wildfire, while regional officials said that 55 fires were active in Sicily. In Puglia, further north, some 2,000 tourists were evacuated from three hotels in Vieste as flames got perilously close.

But in Italy’s northern Lombardy region, a powerful storm was blamed for the death of a 16-year-old girl at a scouts’ camp.

Portugal

Local residents use buckets with water to try to slow down flames approaching their houses in Alcabideche on July 25
AP

Hundreds of Portuguese firefighters were on Tuesday night putting out the flames that swept across a natural park near the popular holiday destination of Cascais.

The wildfire started at 4pm GMT at a mountainous area that is part of the Sintra-Cascais natural park, which covers around 56 square miles of land west of the capital, Lisbon.

In one of the villages affected by the fires, desperate local residents took matters into their own hands by attempting to protect their homes with buckets of water and hosepipes.

Spain

Wildfire burns on the Canary Island of Gran Canaria
Police officer pointing as smoke billows in Pico de las Nieves, Gran Canaria
REUTERS

A rapidly-spreading wildfire broke out at the centre of the Spanish island of Gran Canaria on Tuesday, forcing authorities to remove several hundred villagers from their homes.

Reuters reported that the flames were affecting the hilly central part of the island near the Tejeda peak, away from the beaches popular with tourists.

Antonio Morales, head of the Island Council of Gran Canaria, told reporters that about 100 firefighters and nine aircraft were working to put out the blaze that has so far burned through 200 hectares of forest, but no buildings have been affected.

Croatia

Firefighters battled wildfires that were spreading in the area south of Dubrovnik late on Tuesday, with strong southerly winds preventing deployment of aircraft, local media reported.

“A hurricane southern wind blowing in the Dubrovnik-Neretva canton has fuelled a widespread open space fire in the area of the Dubrovnik Plat community," the Croatian Firefighters Community (HVZ) said on its website.

About 130 firefighters from across the country were battling the fires, the HVZ said, but buildings had not yet been threatened.

Tunisia

TOPSHOT-TUNISIA-ALGERIA-FIRE-CLIMATE
Firefighters attempt to extinguish a raging forest fire near the town of Melloula in northwestern Tunisia
AFP via Getty Images

In Tunisia, fires in neighbouring Algeria forced the closure of two border crossings.

The official TAP news agency reported one death from wildfires: a school principal who died of asphyxiation from a fire in Nafza, in the northwest.

Nafza was among one of the northwestern regions where firefighters were battling flames devouring forests and citrus and hazelnut groves.

France

In southeastern France, fire crews fought scattered wildfires on Tuesday, including one near Arles in Provence involving 300 firefighters and a water-dropping helicopter.

Authorities banned access to several forested areas along the French Riviera and in Corsica.

The Bouches-du-Rhone department was also placed under a “red alert”, with authorities warning of a “very high risk” of wildfires.

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