Approximately 500 people, predominantly tourists, have been stranded in the Greek town of Agios Vasileios in Viotia after a wildfire erupted on Friday and spread rapidly due to strong winds. Evacuation efforts are underway by sea, with more than 200 people already removed and an additional 100 scheduled for boat transport. Emergency workers continue attempting to safely extract remaining residents from the affected area, which had been considered high-risk due to challenging wind conditions that complicated firefighting operations.
A second fire has emerged further along the same coast, while authorities on the island of Crete are continuing to manage a large wildfire that ignited earlier in the week. The Crete blaze has burned thousands of hectares and prompted temporary evacuations affecting 8,000 residents. Additional fires have also been reported on the islands of Paros, Andros, and Kalymnos, indicating widespread fire activity across Greece’s geography.
Greece is among multiple European countries currently grappling with severe wildfire conditions. In Spain, more than 200,000 hectares have burned in the year to date—approximately five times the average for this period according to EU data. Portugal has also experienced above-average burned acreage, with a major blaze near Valpaços in the north having consumed 15,000 hectares and injured five people since Tuesday. A fire in Spain’s Ávila region has been stabilized and is now recognized as the nation’s largest recorded wildfire on record. Officials warn of continued high fire risk across most of Spain through at least Sunday, with potential for new fires or re-ignition of existing ones.
Turkey is also affected, with four active fires burning along its Mediterranean coast near the tourist destination of Antalya, and 206 wildfires reported nationwide since Wednesday. Experts attribute most wildfires to human activity, whether deliberate or unintentional, though climate change is expanding conditions favorable to their occurrence and spread. The combination of a mild and wet previous winter—which promoted vegetation growth—followed by successive heat spells has created abundant fuel for fires across the region.
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