Overview
- The main active front shifted to western Attica over the weekend as a fast-moving wildfire northwest of Athens threatened Porto Germeno and other coastal villages and prompted hundreds to be evacuated by sea.
- Nearly 500 firefighters, about two dozen aircraft and international reinforcements from France and Romania are fighting the blaze that local authorities say has destroyed more than 100 homes.
- On Sunday two Bell firefighting helicopters collided during water-dropping operations over Psatha, triggering a search-and-rescue mission and producing conflicting early reports about casualties as crews located some occupants and continued to search for others.
- Fires in France and Spain showed signs of easing over the weekend with large blazes held within perimeters, but authorities warn active hot spots, re-ignitions and ongoing evacuations keep the situation unstable.
- Scientists and EU agencies link this season's scale to record heat and drought driven by human-caused climate change, a trend that dries vegetation, lengthens fire seasons and strains cross-border mutual aid for firefighting.