NewzLACANAU, France (AP) — Europe’s wildfire crisis split into three stark fronts Sunday: gale-force winds drove flames deeper into the Athens region and forced fresh evacuations, France guarded a still-burning scar four times the size of Paris, and Spain’s major fires stopped advancing.The most immediate danger was in Greece. Flames spread through western Attica, the region around Athens, threatening communities and an industrial district outside Megara as violent gusts prevented firefighting aircraft from collecting water from the sea. The danger carried grim resonance in a region where the 2018 Mati wildfire killed 104 people, Europe’s deadliest blaze this century.Farther west, containment brought no end to the emergency.
France’s largest wildfire remained held within its perimeter after forcing 224,000 people to flee in what may have been the country’s largest civilian evacuation outside wartime.Hot spots still burned within a 420-square-kilometer (162-square-mile) scar, thousands remained unable to return home, and nearly 3,000 firefighters were deployed against the Gironde megafire and a second, still-uncontained blaze in Provence.Together, fires in France and Spain have driven roughly a third of a million people from homes and vacation sites, emptied communities at the height of the European summer and stretched emergency services across simultaneous disasters.Record fire damage underscores Europe’s growing wildfire threatThe mass evacuations in France and Spain are the latest measure of a wildfire threat growing across Europe.The continent entered 2026 after its worst fire year on record, with more than 10,000 square kilometers (3,860 square miles) burned in 2025. Over the past four decades, wildfires have been linked to nearly 800 deaths across much of Europe, according to the European Environment Agency.Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent. It has warmed more than twice the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.Human-caused climate change made the extreme fire-weather conditions behind this year’s French blazes at least twice as likely, scientists at World Weather Attribution found in a rapid analysis conducted while the fires were still burning.Gale-force winds cripple aerial assault near AthensNearly 500 firefighters and 23 aircraft were deployed, but gale-force winds drove fla…
LACANAU, France (AP) — Europe’s wildfire crisis fractured along starkly different fronts Sunday: gale-force winds drove flames deeper into the Athens region and forced fresh evacuations, France guarded a still-burning scar four times the size of Paris against renewed spread, and Spain’s major fires finally stopped advancing.The center of immediate danger was Greece. Flames spread through western Attica, the capital's surrounding region, threatening villages and an industrial district outside Megara as violent gusts prevented firefighting aircraft from collecting water from the sea.Earlier this week, two firefighters died battling a blaze on Crete, while a third was killed in a separate fire in the Peloponnese.But the easing emergency farther west offered little sense of an ending. France’s largest wildfire remained contained after 224,000 people were forced to flee in what may have been the largest civilian evacuation outside wartime.
Active pockets still burned across 420 square kilometers (162 square miles) of devastated forest, thousands remained unable to return home, and nearly 3,000 firefighters were deployed against that blaze and a second, still-uncontained fire in Provence.Fires in France and Spain alone have driven roughly a third of a million people from homes and vacation sites, emptied communities at the height of the European summer and stretched firefighters, aircraft and emergency services across simultaneous disasters.Europe’s wildfire toll mounts as climate risks intensifyEurope entered 2026 after its worst wildfire year on record, when more than 10,000 square kilometers (3,860 square miles) burned. Wildfires cause estimated economic losses of about 2 billion euros in a typical year, according to the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre.The crisis is unfolding on the world’s fastest-warming continent. Europe has warmed at more than twice the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.Human-caused climate change doubled the likelihood of the extreme fire conditions that fueled the French blazes this year, scientists at World Weather Attribution calculated in a rapid analysis while the fires were still burning.Gale-force winds drive flames through Athens regionNearly 500 firefighters and 23 aircraft were deployed, but gale-force winds fanned the fire while crippling the response…
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