Wildfires rage in Greece as firefighters continue battle in France, Spain

ATHENS, Aug 1: Wildfires fanned by heavy winds burned across multiple areas of Greece on Saturday, including near Athens, with large-scale firefighting operations and emergency evacuations underway, while conditions worsened again in parts of Spain and France.

Europe has been ravaged by wildfires this summer after a period of successive record-breaking heatwaves and little rain. Villages in France and Spain have been destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes and holiday accommodation.

Blazes fed by gale-force winds flared up across Greece, which until recent days had experienced fewer heatwaves and a relatively quiet fire season.

In France, a fire in the mountainous southeastern Var department, which had been brought under control three days ago, flared up again on Friday, sweeping across more than 1,000 hectares in six hours, according to BFM TV.

Nearly 2,500 people were evacuated overnight, with firefighters bringing in reinforcements on Saturday when winds were expected to strengthen and complicate efforts to control the blaze.

Spain continued battling several wildfire hot spots on Saturday, two days after the government declared the end of a national emergency caused by huge fires in the country's central provinces.�" REUTERS