Southern Europe: Fires in Greece and Tenerife

Forest fires continue to burn in parts of southern Europe: In Greece, a village near the burning Thadda National Park was evacuated. It also burns regularly on the holiday island of Lesvos. In Spain, a fire in Tenerife has caused concern.

A terrible fire has broken out in Thadiya National Park in the northeast Greece Raging uncontrollably. Thadia village was evacuated during the night and in the morning army and forest staff were engaged in cutting passages through the pine forest to prevent the flames from spreading further. Firefighting operations continued both on the ground and in the air. 320 firemen were deployed along with 68 fire tenders. According to Civil Defense, all available firefighting helicopters and aircraft are currently in use across the country.

A fire continues to burn on Lesvos

A large fire south of the holiday island of Lesbos, where a village had been evacuated earlier in the day, is still out of control. Two hotels and more than 90 houses were evacuated in the coastal town of Vadera, police said. A total of 450 people were brought there safely. The Coast Guard earlier announced that the beach had been evacuated. According to state television broadcaster ERT, at least two houses were destroyed in the fire in Wathera.

Meanwhile, another village on Lesvos has been evacuated due to fire. At noon, residents of the village of Vrisa in the southern part of the island were called to leave the village. Many houses and cars have already been destroyed in the fire. The smoke was thick enough to be seen from space. Copernicus, the European Earth Observatory, announced this on Twitter and released a satellite image.

More than 140 fires in 24 hours

According to the fire department, 141 fires were registered across Greece in 24 hours. Among others, a substation of the state electricity company caught fire near the town of Larissa in Thessaly. Officials continue to assess the fire risk as high. Meteorologists have predicted high temperatures of up to 40 degrees and drought conditions in the coming days till the beginning of August.

Fire in Tenerife

A fire is currently raging in Spain Tenerife concern More than 2,150 hectares of the Canary Island, popular with tourists, have already been destroyed by the flames, regional chief Angel Victor Torres said in the evening. 585 residents of La Guancha and four communities in the north of the island have been brought to safety. Many foreign tourists were warned of the blaze in the nearby Teide National Park.

Regional President: “Remove as soon as possible”

Around 150 emergency services have recently made major progress in battling the flames, thanks to high humidity and weak winds. However, today and Monday temperatures will rise to 38 degrees, which is a concern. Torres said that the fire should be extinguished as soon as possible.

All wildfires in Spain are now extinguished or largely under control – except for one in Tenerife and two on Saturday in Yunqueira, northeast of Madrid, and Olmeda del Rey, southeast of the capital. 235 emergency services.

Months of drought and heat in Spain

Combined with months of prolonged drought and strong winds, the heat is favoring the outbreak and spread of many fires, the Aemet weather service said. 2022 is already Spain’s most destructive forest fire year since records began. In the first seven months of the year, the flames destroyed about 200,000 hectares.

Wildfires are under control in southwestern France

Forest fires are also spreading France Next: However, fire brigades in the south-west of the country were able to bring the blaze under control after eleven days. Local authorities said on Saturday that the fire was now under control. Thousands of people living in the municipality of La Teste-de-Buch who were brought to safety in the last few days can return to their homes. However, the fire department is yet to fully clear the area as another major fire has broken out in the area. According to the province of the Gironde department, the fire will no longer spread in the municipality of Landiras. However, there are still around 30 sources of energy and there is a risk of the fire re-igniting.