Wildfires continued to rage across southern Europe on Sunday, affecting at least six countries and forcing authorities to deploy thousands of firefighters and emergency crews as extreme summer temperatures fuel dangerous conditions across the region.
France, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Croatia and Albania all reported major blazes, with officials warning that the wildfire situation could worsen during the peak summer season.
In southwestern France, authorities warned that a large forest fire near Trevillach in the Pyrenees-Orientales region could force changes to Monday’s third stage of the Tour de France.
The blaze, which erupted on Saturday around 60 kilometers from the race route, left a firefighter and a local resident in life-threatening condition.
French emergency services deployed around 750 firefighters, 200 vehicles and nine water-bombing aircraft to battle the flames, which stretched across an 18-kilometer front. Officials said a final decision on the Tour de France stage would be taken by the end of Sunday.
Portugal also faced a major wildfire crisis in the central Vouzela region, where fires burning since Thursday scorched nearly 12,000 hectares of land.
More than 1,200 firefighters, supported by hundreds of vehicles and 15 aircraft, were mobilized to contain the blaze.
Spain and Italy sent additional firefighting aircraft and personnel to assist Portuguese authorities.
In Spain’s northeastern Girona region near the Costa Brava tourist area, wildfires destroyed nearly 2,200 hectares and forced thousands of residents to either evacuate or remain indoors.
Authorities detained a man suspected of accidentally starting the blaze while using roadside equipment.
Greece witnessed multiple fires, including a major blaze west of Athens where more than 150 firefighters and 22 aircraft were deployed to protect pine forest areas near Mandra. In Thessaloniki, residents were advised to remain indoors after toxic smoke spread from a recycling facility engulfed by fire.
Additional fires were reported on Croatia’s Hvar Island and in Albania, highlighting the growing wildfire threat across the Mediterranean basin.
European officials warned earlier this year that July and August could bring an exceptionally severe wildfire season, dw.com reports.
In response, the European Union launched its largest-ever cross-border firefighting deployment, positioning emergency crews and water-bombing aircraft across high-risk countries including Greece, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Cyprus.
The worsening fires come after an intense early-summer heatwave swept across Europe, raising concerns over increasingly longer and more destructive wildfire seasons linked to extreme climate conditions.
