Hundreds of firefighters are battling wildfires in Portugal, with Greek authorities warning of toxic fumes
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Hundreds of firefighters battled wildfires in Portugal and Greece on Sunday, while Spain and Italy sent reinforcements to Portugal to help fight a massive blaze that burned for more than three days.
In Greece, authorities urged residents in parts of Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, to stay indoors and close windows and doors because of toxic fumes from a burning renewable energy plant that has been gutted by wildfires on the outskirts of the city.
In the center of Portugal in the area of Vouzela, more than 1,200 firefighters supported by about 400 vehicles and 15 aircraft tried to put out the fire that broke out on Thursday, according to the Civil Protection authorities in the country. The wildfire burned an area of 12,000 hectares on Sunday, according to information from the European Union’s Copernicus satellite mapping agency.
The European Union’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid said Spain sent 120 firefighters and 45 vehicles as reinforcements to Portugal on Friday. Three firefighting planes from Italy and Spain were also sent to help.
Toxic smoke from wildfires in northern Greece
On the other side of southern Europe in Greece, a flash fire at a recycling plant broke out Saturday evening near the Oraiokastro suburb of Thessaloniki, prompting evacuation warnings for three suburbs and a center housing 157 people with special needs.
Strong winds fanned the flames and about 160 firefighters were assigned to battle the flames throughout the night until water-dropping planes could take off in the morning, the fire department said.
The mayor of Oraiokastro, Pandelis Tsakiris, said on the Greek radio station ERT that many businesses and homes were damaged by the fire, but a clear picture will emerge after the authorities conduct a full investigation.
A 76-year-old man has been arrested who is suspected of starting a fire carelessly by throwing sparks in his car that ignited the vegetation near the road, said the Fire Department. He was supposed to appear before the prosecutor on Sunday.
The fire broke out days after another fire broke out in a nearby area and killed a 12-year-old boy and his father.
Brig. Ioannis Artopoios, a spokesman for the fire department who appeared on ERT television on Sunday, said that about 85 percent of wildfires in Greece are caused by negligence, including sparks from agricultural machinery, discarded cigarettes and outdoor barbecues.
“This means that most of them could have been avoided.”
Greece suffers from frequent, often devastating, wildfires during hot and dry summers. In 2018, a blaze east of Athens killed more than 100 people, and a massive fire in 2023 that tore through a remote natural area in northeastern Greece was the largest fire recorded in the European Union.
The world is turning to technology to combat the threat of fire, which is exacerbated by climate change. It includes an array of four satellites, launched into low orbit in May, that will monitor wildfires.
This summer, Greece has been stymied by the heat waves that have scorched much of western Europe in recent weeks. But we still see a lot of flames all over the country, the continent and the islands of the country.
