Two firefighters—a Greek coordinator and a Danish pilot—were killed on Sunday when their helicopters collided while battling wildfires near Athens, a tragedy that underscores the extreme conditions facing crews across southern Europe. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed "sorrow for the tragic accident" and extended condolences to the families, saying the loss "fills us all with grief." The deaths bring to five the number of firefighters killed in Greece this week alone, as the country struggles with multiple blazes fanned by winds reaching 100 kilometres an hour.
Fire services in Greece are stretched to breaking point. Civil Protection Minister Evangelos Tournas said the department had been "pushed to its limits," with gale-force winds creating "extremely difficult conditions resulting in many cases where aircraft either cannot draw water or cannot carry out drops due to extreme turbulence." By Sunday, wildfires in Greece had devastated over 12,000 hectares of forest and agricultural land. The fire near Porto Germeno, which broke out on Friday, appears to have affected an area of over 10,000 hectares—almost double the original estimate—and is likely to be classified as a megafire, according to Theodore Giannaros, a wildfire meteorologist and senior researcher at the National Observatory.
Human Cost and Evacuations
Firefighters were trying to keep the fire from approaching the western outskirts of Athens after it scaled a mountain overnight. Porto Germeno and other villages were evacuated when the fire broke out, and local authorities said scores of homes were damaged or destroyed. Shortly before midnight on Saturday, a new front broke out on Cephalonia, an Ionian Sea island. Earlier this week, fires on the islands of Crete and Paros affected another 6,000 hectares. Three firefighters died this week in the line of duty, two in Crete and one in the Peloponnese.
The greater Athens area and nearby Voiotia and the island of Evia were under near maximum fire risk on Sunday, the civil protection ministry said. Though the winds eased late on Saturday, the conditions remain "extremely precarious," according to officials. Mitsotakis said Greece had faced "extreme weather conditions and winds" that often reached 100 kilometres an hour, making containment efforts extraordinarily difficult.
France Stabilises, Spain Still Struggling
France has managed to stop the spread of its blazes after weeks of fighting wildfires. The strongest fire in the Gironde region near Bordeaux is now contained and ravaged 42,000 hectares and destroyed 240 homes. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said "we have returned to a more stable situation," confirming earlier comments by Interior Minister Laurent Nunez. Of the 220,000 people who were evacuated, 208,000 have been able to go back home. It's the country's largest wildfire since 1949. France had 63,000 hectares of forest and agricultural land burnt since the beginning of July.
The fire in the southeastern Var region is still under close surveillance. Regional prefect Simon Babre said firefighters there had managed to stem the advance of a fast-moving blaze that sprang up on Friday. He said strong winds fanning the flames had caused them to spread "faster than a galloping horse" and warned that the situation was still "extremely precarious." He added: "We're staying cautious, because the fight goes on." Across France, police have arrested 308 people in connection with the fires, of whom 33 are being held in custody.
Spain continues to grapple with multiple wildfires following the lifting of the national state of emergency declared on Thursday. In Zamora, northeast Spain, the fire in Fermoselle, where 11,134 hectares burned, flared up again on Saturday near Mámoles but was brought under control thanks to seven helicopters and three aeroplanes, and residents have now returned to their homes. The situation is worsening in León, with a new outbreak in San Tirso, in addition to those in Veguellina, where three villages have been evacuated, and Valdelaloba, which is showing positive signs.
Suspected Arson and Ongoing Threats
In Cáceres, a lorry that caught fire on the A-66 sparked a wildfire that led to the precautionary evacuation of 150 people in Grimaldo and 650 in Casas de Millán. On Sunday, they were allowed to return, although they were required to remain in their homes, after some 1,500 hectares had been burnt. The major fires in the Sierra Oeste region of Madrid and Ávila, covering more than 70,000 hectares, remain under control. In the eastern region of Castellón, the fire in Vall d'Uixó was stabilised on its seventh day, with 9,568 hectares burnt and all evacuated residents now rehoused. The Civil Guard suspects it may have been started deliberately after detecting two separate sources of ignition.
Between 1 January and 2 August 2026, 186,544 hectares of forest were burnt in Spain, according to provisional figures released on Sunday by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge. In all of the EU, fires have burned around 485,000 hectares since the beginning of the year, which amounts to half of Cyprus' surface area.
Why This Matters:
The wildfires tearing through southern Europe aren't just environmental disasters—they're a preview of what climate scientists have warned about for decades. The deaths of five firefighters in Greece this week alone reveal the human cost of extreme weather that's pushing emergency services beyond their capacity. As winds reach 100 kilometres an hour and fires spread "faster than a galloping horse," individual nations cannot respond alone. The EU must coordinate firefighting resources, share equipment and personnel across borders, and invest in prevention—not just reaction. With nearly half a million hectares burned across the EU this year, the climate crisis is no longer a future threat. It's here, and it's killing people. Without urgent investment in climate adaptation, forest management, and a just transition away from fossil fuels, these summers will only get deadlier. The question isn't whether Europe can afford to act—it's whether it can afford not to.