August 1, 2026 / 2:58 PM EDT
/ AP
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Europe's wildfire emergency eased across much of western Europe on Saturday, but its most dangerous front shifted to Greece, where gale-force winds drove flames through a seaside resort, forced hundreds to flee by sea and hampered firefighting aircraft.For Greece, the danger carried grim resonance: a 2018 wildfire at the seaside community of Mati, near Athens, killed 104 people, making it Europe's deadliest wildfire this century.In southwestern France, firefighters held a vast wildfire within its perimeter, with about 198,000 people now allowed home after what may have been the country's largest peacetime evacuation. The country's interior minister, Laurent Nunez, said the blaze in Gironde "is now under control with vigilance points in a few sectors." In southeastern France, about 1,500 firefighters are still working to contain another wildfire in the Var region.
The light flows through a charred forest near Ares, during wildfires in southwestern France, Thursday, July 30, 2026.
