Southern Europe reeled Thursday under an unrelenting heatwave that has stoked deadly wildfires from Spain to Greece, torching vast swaths of land, forcing thousands to flee, and prompting urgent calls for international assistance.
Spain, gripped by its 10th straight day of blistering heat that has pushed temperatures to 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit), mourned its third wildfire death this week.
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska confirmed that a firefighter died battling flames in the northwestern province of Leon, days after two others – one near Madrid, another in Leon – succumbed to their injuries.
Nearly 6,000 residents in 26 communities have been evacuated from the Castile and Leon region, where flames have devoured large tracts of countryside.
Spain has already lost nearly 99,000 hectares (244,000 acres) to fire this year – more than double the destruction recorded by this time in 2024.
