Emergency teams are continuing to battle significant wildfires in France and Greece as extreme weather conditions force further evacuations and threaten new areas. In France, the Provence region remains a primary concern; while overnight efforts successfully protected the towns of Correns and Montfort-sur-Argens, the blaze has flared up again in the Gros Bessillon area. Since Friday, an additional 1,250 hectares have been consumed, bringing the total area destroyed by the end of the week to 4,500 hectares. Approximately 1,300 firefighters are currently deployed to the scene, though 2,500 residents remain displaced.
Elsewhere in France, the massive wildfire near Bordeaux—the largest in the country in seven decades—is now considered under control. The Gironde fire has burned 420 square kilometres of pine forest west of the city, an area four times the size of Paris. Firefighters said it remained contained within that perimeter Saturday, meaning flames had not broken beyond its existing boundaries. But it had not been declared “fixed” — the point at which crews determine that a fire is no longer advancing — and active sectors and buried hot spots persisted. Twenty French departments were under an orange heat warning Saturday, mostly in the east and southeast. Temperatures of 35 to 39 degree celsius were forecast around the Mediterranean, while eight departments faced a high forest-fire risk.
In Greece, fire crews are contending with intense weather conditions in the Porto Germeno area. More than 400 firefighters, supported by dozens of specialised aircraft, are working to suppress the flames. The situation has been exacerbated by powerful winds reaching up to 130 kilometres per hour, as recorded by the National Observatory of Athens’ weather service, meteo.gr. The fire, which originated Friday near the coastal village of Agios Vasileios, prompted an emergency sea rescue operation for approximately 300 people who had initially ignored evacuation orders from civil protection authorities.
Despite the difficulties, 2,500 people were still unable to return home.
Meanwhile, authorities say France's largest wildfire in 70 years has been brought under control near the southwestern city of Bordeaux.
