Greek firefighters battled deadly wildfires on the island of Crete for a second consecutive day as strong, shifting winds hampered all efforts to contain the flames.
Three firefighters lost their lives in total, with two dying on Crete and a third collapsing and dying while on duty near Gytheio on the southern end of the Peloponnese peninsula.
The two Crete firefighters were killed after being trapped on a mountain road, losing their bearings as thick smoke completely enveloped them.
Fires sweeping across southwestern Crete forced the evacuation of several villages in the Rethymno region, with flames also threatening the popular resort town of Agia Galini on the island’s southern coast.
Roughly 8,000 people were evacuated in total, according to the island’s deputy governor Maria Lioni, as the crisis deepened across the region.
The fires have already destroyed large stretches of farmland, including olive groves that represent a critical part of the local agricultural economy, as well as numerous residential homes.
Firefighters struggled to deploy aircraft for water drops, as wind speeds reached up to 102 kilometers per hour, rendering aerial operations severely limited or entirely impossible.
“Unfortunately there is no improvement, and the latest information indicates that winds will increase later in the day,” said Giorgos Tsapakos, the deputy regional governor for civil protection on Crete, speaking to Greek television.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis paid tribute to the fallen firefighters, acknowledging the “new harsh reality” they face each year as wildfires across Greece continue to worsen in scale and intensity.
Greece, alongside other Southern European nations, faces a dramatically heightened wildfire risk as climate change intensifies droughts, extreme temperatures, and the powerful winds that create ideal conditions for uncontrolled blazes.
The crisis unfolded as firefighting efforts elsewhere in Europe appeared to be improving, offering a broader picture of a continent under strain from seasonal fire conditions.
In France, authorities permitted the return of 84,000 evacuees displaced by a wildfire near the southwestern city of Bordeaux, after cooler temperatures and rain provided some relief following the displacement of around 220,000 people.
In Spain, wildfires that had been threatening Madrid were abating, with authorities reporting “almost no flames” remaining as conditions across the Iberian Peninsula began to stabilize.
