Three Greek firefighters die as wildfires threaten parts of southern Europe

Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - ATHENS —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.

In Crete, gale-force winds whipped up flames prompting the evacuation of several villages, and two firefighters died after becoming trapped near the village of Krya Vrysi while they were driving between fire fronts when the blaze swept through the Rethymno region in the island's west.

Another firefighter died in a separate fire after being found unconscious near the southern Peloponnese port town of Gytheio.

Residents and tourists were evacuated from Krya Vrysi and other nearby villages, as high winds pushed the fire out of control near popular holiday spots.

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

Witnesses said several fires broke out on Crete and spread fast, with the worst fire front extending as far as 15km (9.3 miles).

"The wind is unbelievable – you can't stand sometimes. The flames were huge, it was really scary," resident Chrissa Gioukaki told Reuters.

Wildfires have also broken out elsewhere in Greece, on the islands of Paros and Lesbos in the Aegean Sea, and the southern town of Trifylia on the Greek mainland.

In southern Turkey, the main highway connecting Fethiye and Antalya had to be closed and part of a hospital evacuated because of a fire in Muğla province.

Meanwhile, a fourth heatwave of the summer has begun in Spain and France, with firefighters trying to prevent a flare-up from major wildfires that have only just been brought under control.

In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has warned the next 12 hours will be "decisive" in putting out a wildfire near the capital Madrid. "Things are progressing favourably, with maximum caution," he told reporters, because of higher temperatures, lower humidity and the risk of gusts of wind.

More than 43,000 hectares (108,000 acres) has already burned at Burgohondo in Ávila province, 150km (93 miles) west of Madrid. It is now considered the largest recorded wildfire in Spanish history. In total this year more than 207,000 hectares of land have been burned by wildfires in Spain.

One of the team directing firefighting operations, Francisco Bolaños, said that while the fire had not "moved a centimetre during the night", there were concerns it could re-ignite because of the higher temperatures, and the focus was on stabilising a perimeter of 180km (112 miles).

Authorities have allowed thousands of people to return to their homes after restrictions were lifted in the areas of Toledo, Madrid, Ávila, and Castellón.

In the Madrid region alone, 24,000 people have been told they can return and lockdowns on another 20,000 have been lifted.

Among those returning to their homes were about 1,000 residents of the towns of Navas del Rey and Chapinería to the west of Madrid who had been staying in Leganés, a town on the south-west fringe of the capital.

The mayor of Chapinería, Lucía Moya, told Telemadrid that the consequences for the town were very severe and that "many residents have lost their homes and jobs. Getting back on track is going to be an arduous task".

Many of the 2,000 people forced to flee the fires in the nearby Tiétar Valley were looked after by volunteers in the town of Talavera de la Reina, some distance south of the fire.

However, some 300 of the evacuees remained on Wednesday morning and Mayor José Julián Gregorio told Europa Press that they would receive "the same level of care as on the first day".

One fire remains out of control, at Vall d'Uixó north-west of Valencia.

Climate change is driving up temperatures around the world, and Europe is the fastest warming continent, heating up twice as fast as the global average, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service.

This is causing increased summer heatwaves, greater pressure on Europe's water supply, and more intense wildfires.

In south-west France, the largest fires in the Gironde region are described as "still stabilized" despite several flare-ups, however officials warn of dry winds and temperatures of up to 41C (106F).

The mayor of Le Barp, south-west of Bordeaux, Blandine Sarrazin, warned that the situation was "getting harder", after two fires had broken out the day before, and said everyone had to be "hyper-vigilant".

Flare-ups were also reported not far from Lanton on the eastern shore of the Bay of Arcachon.

Gironde and the Landes are among 16 departments or districts are under orange heatwave alert.

The fire service has had to deploy special measures in Gironde to protect a number of sites linked to France's defense and aerospace industries. The so-called "Seveso" sites include plants that manufacture hazardous materials for missiles and rockets.

Although no fatalities have been reported in the fires surrounding Madrid and in Castellón on the east coast, authorities in the southern city of Seville say a woman, who was badly burned in the Los Gallardos fire in Almería earlier this month, has died of her injuries in hospital.

Fourteen people died in the Almería fires, including UK and Belgian nationals as well as US, French and Spanish citizens.

Fires are also burning in neighboring Portugal, in the north-eastern district of Vila Real.

Civil protection officials have told public broadcaster RTP there is an active front of a kilometer and they are keeping a close watch on a local water treatment plant and a gas depot near the town of Valpaços.