ATHENS\/ CARCES, France \u2013 Wildfires fanned by gale-force winds burned across multiple areas of Greece on Saturday, forcing residents to flee as conditions worsened again in parts of Spain and France.<\/p>\n
In one escalating Greek blaze, firefighters, police and ambulances slowly withdrew before a huge wall of fire and smoke engulfing forests and shrub near Porto Germeno on \u200bthe Gulf of Corinth 60 kilometers northwest of Athens.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe situation is extremely hard, especially today. We have really strong winds, \u200cgusts exceeding \u200c73 kph. The direction of the fire can\u2019t be determined easily,\u201d doctor and first responder Giorgos \u200bDoulas said.<\/p>\n
Europe has been ravaged by wildfires this summer after a period of successive record-breaking heat waves and little rain, in conditions that scientists say have been exacerbated by climate change. Several have broken out in Greece in recent days after a period of relative calm \u2060there.<\/p>\n
Northwest of Athens, authorities told people from the towns of Agia Paraskevi, Kryo Pigadi and Agios Nektarios to evacuate. Helicopters dropped water and fire retardants \u2060to try to stop the spread.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery summer … we worry whether we will catch fire or not,\u201d said 65-year-old Ilias Papadimitropoulos from Kryo Pigadi. \u201cWe live and breathe with this anxiety. … From what I see, things are very difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier, more than \u200b200 people from the town of Agios Vasileios had \u2060to be evacuated by sea.<\/p>\n
Authorities warned of extreme wildfire risk across the regions of Boeotia, Attica and Evia for Sunday.<\/p>\n
In France, a fire in the \u2060mountainous southeastern Var department, which had \u200bbeen brought under control three days ago, flared up again on Friday, forcing authorities \u200bto evacuate nearly 2,500 people overnight.<\/p>\n
Local prefect Simon Babre told BFM TV on Saturday the fire had burned through \u200b1,800 hectares before stabilizing again.<\/p>\n
In the community of Montfort-sur-Argens in Var, farmers were helping fill firefighting trucks and helicopters with water.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still optimistic despite this terrible year … we\u2019ve always bounced back. We\u2019ve known about fires in the Mediterranean region,\u201d winemaker Frederic Ambard said. \u201cThings will slowly rebuild.\u201d<\/p>\n
Spain battled several wildfire hot spots on Saturday, two days after the government declared the end of \u200ca national emergency caused by huge fires in the country\u2019s central provinces.<\/p>\n
Conditions worsened in the northern province of Leon, where a new blaze broke out overnight, another remained active, and a third was evolving favorably, according to authorities.<\/p>\n
In neighboring Zamora province, a fire that ravaged about 11,000 hectares improved enough for 14 evacuated towns to reopen and restrictions to be lifted.<\/p>\n
In the eastern province of Castellon, the Vall d\u2019Uixo fire was stabilized on \u200bits \u200bseventh day after burning nearly 10,000 hectares, allowing all evacuated residents to return. Police said they suspected \u200barson after finding two separate ignition points.<\/p>\n
Major fires in the central regions of Madrid and Avila, which burned more than 70,000 hectares, were stabilized. \u2060A new outbreak near the San Juan reservoir, west of the capital, was extinguished on Friday.<\/p>\n
The toll of extreme weather has extended well beyond the widespread devastation caused by fires.<\/p>\n
In Austria, the country\u2019s Agency for Health and Food Safety reported a record 395 heat-related deaths for the month of June. Last week, Britain said an estimated 2,877 people had died from \u200bheat-related causes so far this year, while France reported 5,764 excess deaths in the country between June 17 and July 2, and Germany\u2019s RKI health body estimated 9,800 people had died so far this year linked to the high temperatures.<\/p>\n