ATHENS, Greece — Greece intensified firefighting operations Thursday as a fast-moving wildfire swept across the southern island of Crete, killing two firefighters, forcing thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate, and adding to a wave of destructive blazes that has scorched large parts of Europe during one of the continent’s harshest wildfire seasons in recent memory.
More than 220 firefighters, supported by ground crews and emergency personnel, battled the blaze that erupted Wednesday near the village of Krya Vrysi in southern Crete. Strong winds continued to fuel the fire, creating rapidly changing conditions that complicated containment efforts and prevented aerial firefighting aircraft from operating effectively.
“The winds are so intense that aircraft can’t operate,” Giorgos Tsapakos, Crete’s deputy regional governor, told Greece’s state broadcaster. He said the fire front had stretched nearly 10 miles across rugged terrain, although officials said residential communities were not facing an immediate threat as firefighters concentrated on preventing further expansion.
The wildfire claimed the lives of two firefighters, underscoring the growing dangers facing emergency responders across southern Europe. Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Evangelos Tournas identified the victims as firefighters aged 58 and 25. Authorities did not immediately disclose the circumstances surrounding their deaths, while investigations continued.
The Crete disaster is the latest chapter in a difficult wildfire season that has stretched firefighting resources across Europe. Although summer wildfires have long been a recurring feature of Mediterranean countries, officials and scientists say increasingly intense heatwaves, prolonged drought and stronger winds are producing larger, faster-moving fires that are becoming more difficult to contain.
Regional officials described the situation on Crete as one of the most challenging emergency operations of the year. Maria Lioni, deputy regional governor of the Rethymno region, called it “a nightmarish day and a nightmarish night,” saying authorities ordered evacuations from numerous villages as flames advanced through dry vegetation. While the full extent of destruction remained unclear, she said early assessments suggested widespread damage.
Approximately 8,000 people were evacuated from the southern coastal area around Agia Galini, one of Crete’s popular tourist destinations. Emergency officials later announced that some visitors had begun returning to hotels after conditions stabilized in parts of the region.
Thousands of displaced residents sought temporary shelter with relatives or friends elsewhere on the island, while tourism authorities relocated visitors to accommodations in safer areas. Around 700 evacuees spent the night inside a gymnasium converted into an emergency shelter, where authorities distributed mattresses, food and other essential supplies.
The wildfire in Crete was only one of several active fires stretching Greek emergency resources. Nearly 100 firefighters continued battling another blaze near the town of Plomari on the island of Lesbos, while another firefighter died Wednesday while responding to a separate wildfire near Gytheio in the Peloponnese region.
Civil protection authorities warned that much of Greece remained under elevated wildfire risk, including the greater Athens metropolitan area, Crete, the Cyclades islands and large sections of the Peloponnese, with forecasts indicating persistent heat, low humidity and gusting winds over the coming days.
The Greek emergency coincided with a broader wildfire crisis affecting several European countries. Firefighters in France and Spain reported significant progress Thursday after days of relentless operations, but officials cautioned that dangerous weather conditions could quickly reverse recent gains.
In France, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the situation had improved modestly because of higher humidity and weaker winds, yet warned that firefighting operations remained far from over.
“No one should let their guard down,” Nuñez told reporters, noting that more than 14,000 wildfires had been recorded across France since the beginning of the summer season.
Four major fires continued burning, including the massive wildfire in the Gironde region of southwestern France, where firefighters focused on extinguishing hotspots and preventing embers from reigniting fresh fires. Authorities announced that approximately 84,000 evacuees could return home after more than 220,000 residents had previously been forced to flee advancing flames.
Spain also reported encouraging developments after firefighters largely stabilized major wildfires west of Madrid. The improvement allowed nearly all of the roughly 60,000 displaced residents to return home, prompting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to declare an end to the national wildfire emergency in the affected region and transfer responsibility back to regional authorities.
Spanish emergency crews also succeeded in containing another significant wildfire in Castellón province near Valencia. However, officials warned that soaring temperatures and critically low humidity continued to create ideal conditions for new fires, particularly in northwestern Spain, where fresh blazes in Zamora and León provinces forced additional evacuations.
“In any case, the emergency is not over,” Sánchez said, emphasizing that authorities remained on high alert despite recent progress.
Elsewhere across Europe, Scotland’s firefighters continued battling a wildfire that has burned for nearly two weeks across moorland and forests, destroying ecologically important landscapes. In eastern England, emergency services evacuated dozens of residents from homes near Dunwich Heath in Suffolk as firefighters tackled another fast-moving blaze only a few miles from a nuclear power station. Local officials stressed there was no immediate danger to the facility.
Meteorologists said much of Western Europe remains trapped under another period of unusually intense heat—the continent’s fourth major heatwave since May. Combined with exceptionally dry vegetation, persistent winds and low atmospheric humidity, the conditions have dramatically increased both the likelihood of new wildfire outbreaks and the speed at which existing fires can spread.
Climate researchers have repeatedly warned that rising global temperatures are lengthening Europe’s wildfire season and increasing the frequency of extreme fire behavior once seen primarily in regions such as western North America and Australia.
As emergency crews continue battling active fires across several countries, European authorities remain concerned that the wildfire season could continue well into autumn if hot, dry conditions persist, posing continued risks to communities, critical infrastructure and millions of hectares of forests across the continent.
More in World coverage
- Thousands of firefighters are battling major blazes that have already burned tens of thousands of hectares and forced mass evacuations, while authorities warn that temperatures above 40C could make conditions significantly worse.
- Government data linked 1,029 excess deaths to extreme heat as Spain experienced its second-hottest June on record.
- Britain records its hottest June day on record while authorities across Europe struggle to protect residents from a deadly early summer heatwave.
- New UNICEF report finds children in Africa and South Asia face the highest exposure to multiple climate-related disasters, with drought and extreme heat emerging as the most common combination of risks.
- Researchers say the planet’s current population of 8.3 billion is placing unprecedented pressure on ecosystems, climate systems, food supplies, and natural resources.
