{"id":835835,"date":"2026-07-30T12:13:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T12:13:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/835835\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T12:13:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T12:13:24","slug":"three-greek-firefighters-killed-as-wildfires-spread-further-in-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/835835\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Greek firefighters killed as wildfires spread further in Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Firefighting vehicles work to extinguish a fire inside a military base during a wildfire, in Souge, Gironde, France, Wednesday.Yves Herman\/Reuters<\/p>\n

Three Greek firefighters died battling blazes during high winds on the island of Crete and the mainland as wildfires spread across Europe on Wednesday after days of devastating fires in Spain and France.<\/p>\n

Two firefighters became trapped in the Crete blaze near the village of Krya Vrysi while they were driving between fire fronts. Another died in a separate fire in the Peloponnese region, a fire department spokesperson told Reuters.<\/p>\n

Residents and tourists were evacuated from Krya Vrysi and other nearby villages, locals told Reuters by phone, as high winds pushed the fire out of control near popular holiday spots.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe wind is unbelievable \u2013 you can\u2019t stand sometimes. The flames were huge, it was really scary,\u201d said resident Chrissa Gioukaki.<\/p>\n

The flames headed southeast towards the coastal town of Agia Galini, where hotels line a hill above a small harbour. Tourists were evacuated on buses and in cars on Wednesday afternoon, said Charalampos Sevvas, owner of the Galini Mare hotel.<\/p>\n

Earlier on Wednesday, the head of the EU\u2019s emergency response centre said that Greece and Italy were set to face a heightened wildfire risk in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

Europe, the world\u2019s fastest-warming continent, has endured record-breaking heatwaves this year, as human-driven climate change is intensifying the heat and drought that allow wildfires to spread faster.<\/p>\n

In a video released on Wednesday by the Spanish Air Force, pilot Francisco Javier Gimeno Benito-Sendin described battling the wildfires as ’emotionally draining,’ adding that flying over the affected areas and witnessing the devastation was taking a heavy toll on him.<\/p>\n

Reuters<\/p>\n

Major Spanish fire stabilized<\/p>\n

Blazes have forced large-scale evacuations of people in Spain and France over the past days, scorching through forests and killing wildlife.<\/p>\n

Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska warned of \u201cthree tough days\u201d ahead, with strong winds and high temperatures, even as the major fire in the Avila and Madrid region stabilized, allowing authorities to lift some of the evacuation and shelter-in-place orders.<\/p>\n

Officials meanwhile warned of another fire in the northwestern Spanish province of Zamora. They issued an evacuation order for six towns and asked about 1,000 people to shelter in place.<\/p>\n

Spain\u2019s weather agency AEMET said temperatures were expected to reach 40 degrees Celsius on Wednesday in at least six regions, which have been placed on orange alert, the second-highest level.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

A volunteer runs to fill a water bucket to help battle the fire in Lanton, west of Bordeaux, during wildfires in the Gironde region, southwestern France.ROMAIN PERROCHEAU\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Firefighters wary of new temperature rise<\/p>\n

In France, temperatures in the southwest, hit by devastating fires, were expected to rise from around 33 C on Tuesday to peak at 41 C, according to Meteo France, while dry winds in the afternoon could stoke flames.<\/p>\n

French firefighters kept a major blaze west of Bordeaux stable overnight. And near Bordeaux\u2019s airport, which has remained open, tramway services resumed and hotels reopened.<\/p>\n

But officials warned the wildfires were far from over. The southwestern municipality of Lege-Cap-Ferret flagged several flare-ups in the area, adding that firefighters had managed to stabilize them.<\/p>\n

In Le Temple, around 30 km away, firefighters with trucks and hoses and supported by aircraft, worked to extinguish a reigniting fire that set trees and vegetation ablaze.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe remain vigilant of course today, considering the forecast weather conditions, with a new rise in temperatures and higher wind speeds in the afternoon,\u201d firefighter commander Matthieu Jomain told reporters earlier in the day.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

A house destroyed by a wildfire is photographed as the fire continues to spread in Pelayos de la Presa, Madrid province, Spain, Tuesday.Manu Fernandez\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n

Evacuations and shock at ruined homes<\/p>\n

The impact on the forests has been widespread. The wildfire in the Landes area west of Bordeaux, a popular tourist destination, has devastated 42,000 hectares of mainly pine trees.<\/p>\n

Authorities have evacuated about 220,000 people, including holidaymakers and local residents, as the fire threatened the Cap Ferret peninsula on the Atlantic coast, only accessible by one road. About 60,000 people have been allowed back.<\/p>\n

Raphael Fohanno could not believe what had happened to his parents\u2019 house in the small beach town of Biscarrosse, also hit by wildfires in southwestern France.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a shock, thinking that just an hour earlier I\u2019d been in my room and everything and now, there\u2019s nothing left,\u201d 18-year-old Fohanno said. His parents and sister had been evacuated by helicopter while he was out of the house.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

A fire burns in a forest near Claouey, during wildfires in southwestern France, Wednesday.Emma Da Silva\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n

Fire in Spain\u2019s Castellon rages for fifth day<\/p>\n

From Thursday onwards, danger levels in southwestern France appear likely to decrease thanks to some thunderstorms, lower temperatures and increased humidity, but will remain high in the southeast, Meteo France said.<\/p>\n

Four people were arrested in recent days in the area, one on suspicion of stealing jewellery from evacuated houses, two for allegedly stealing food from an evacuation centre in Bordeaux, and one for pretending to be a therapist and offering paid sessions to evacuees, police said.<\/p>\n

In Spain, while the situation had improved in the central provinces of Avila and Madrid, a blaze in eastern Castellon remained out of control after burning more than 10,000 hectares as weather conditions triggered several flare-ups.<\/p>\n

Around 10,000 evacuated residents were still unable to return to their homes in Castellon.<\/p>\n

But in a moment of hope, a veterinary hospital housing dozens of horses was saved from the flames in La Vilavella in the province, thanks to the efforts of locals.<\/p>\n

\u201cMiracles exist. We have been saved!\u201d said veterinarian Oscar Quemades.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Wildfire-scorched land near the city of Castellon de la Plana, Spain, Tuesday.Nacho Doce\/Reuters<\/p>\n

More frequent and intense heatwaves are causing thousands of excess deaths and increasingly disrupting everyday life, from snarling road and rail travel to hindering river shipping.<\/p>\n

Highlighting the devastation wrought on the countryside and wildlife, Reuters drone footage from El Tiemblo, in Spain\u2019s Avila province, showed charred deer carcasses in a forest burnt to ashes.<\/p>\n

A Madrid resident who gave her name as Cintia was horrified by the scene in El Tiemblo, a place she has often visited.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe used to bring food up for the animals,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd look where it is today.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Firefighting vehicles work to extinguish a fire inside a military base during a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":835836,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,885,909,910,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,66,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-835835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-science","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=835835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835835\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/835836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=835835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=835835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=835835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}