More people have been forced from their homes outside Athens as wildfires continue to rage amid scorching temperatures across southern Europe.
The authorities had said the huge blaze had been contained overnight and Greece’s Fire Service intensified water drops with the help of extra aircraft from France and Italy, but firefighters said they lost control of the fire when the wind picked up.
The fire has been raging since Tuesday and already burned 13.5 square miles of forest and scrubland.
Some residents ignored the latest evacuation orders to try and save their homes. Chrysoula Renieri, 72, said relatives helped her try to save the family home near Loutraki, a resort town 50 miles west of Athens, but the wildfire cut off water in the area.
“It’s all gone. We have suffered too much damage,” she said, standing under a blackened and buckled ceiling in the gutted home.
Stifling heat across Europe’s south has created a high or very high risk of fires in Spain, Italy and Greece.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the Fire Service and civil protection authority would remain on alert as a new heat wave moved east across the country.
Weather forecasts said temperatures could reach 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) on Sunday.
“The hard times are clearly not over yet,” Mitsotakis said.
“We are facing another heat wave and a possible strengthening of the winds. So, absolute vigilance and absolute readiness are required over the next few days.”
A state of emergency was declared on the Greek island of Rhodes, where evacuation orders were issued for several mountain areas.
In Spain, a 42-year-old Moroccan man died from a heat-related issue on Wednesday, Spain’s public news agency EFE reported Thursday.
The agency said the man collapsed on a street in southeast Spain’s Murcia region.
Temperatures in Murcia peaked at 44 C (111.2 F) on Wednesday. Malaga hit 44.2 C (111.6 F), matching an all-time record for the southern coastal city, Spain’s weather service said.
Temperatures in southern Spain were expected to fall on Friday before rising again on Sunday, when the country is holding an early national election.
In Italy, temperatures as high as 44 C were recorded in Sicily, while public health warnings to protect children, older adults and people with health problems remained in effect on the island and much of the Italian mainland.
