Southern Europe grappled with a new wave of wildfires Wednesday, as flames tore through homes, forests, and farmland, leaving at least three dead across Spain, Türkiye and Albania.
Firefighters battled relentlessly overnight to protect Greece’s third-largest city, Patras, while emergency crews from across the continent scrambled to contain blazes fueled by heatwaves and soaring temperatures.
Outside Patras, towering flames consumed pine forests and olive groves, sending columns of smoke and fire toward apartment blocks.
Vehicles in a nearby impound lot were engulfed, and residents armed with buckets and branches joined firefighting efforts. “Today is another very difficult day with the level of fire risk remaining very high across many parts of the country,” said Greek Fire Service spokesman Vassilis Vathrakoyiannis.
Water-dropping planes and helicopters rotated between the western mainland, Patras, and the island of Zakynthos, while exhausted firefighters on the island of Chios slept on the roadside after night-long shifts.
