Heatwave and gusty winds fuel wildfires in Spain, Portugal and Greece

A sweeping heatwave and gusty winds have pushed southern Europe to the edge of a sprawling wildfire crisis, with Spain, Greece and Portugal among the hardest hit as hundreds of fires burn across multiple regions. Thousands have been forced from their homes, major travel corridors have been disrupted, and European civil protection resources have been mobilized at a scale not seen in years as authorities warn the danger may persist into the weekend.

In Spain, authorities report dozens of major fires burning across several provinces, with the Castile and León and Galicia regions under particular strain. Firefighters and regional authorities have said the fires threaten towns, farms and critical infrastructure, including a UNESCO mining site in Castile and León. Emergency officials have coordinated a significant international response, with aircraft and personnel arriving from France, Italy, Slovakia, the Netherlands and beyond under the European Union’s civil protection mechanism. The government has also increased the military footing at the fire front, deploying hundreds more troops to assist in firefighting, evacuations and logistics. In Galicia, Ourense and surrounding areas...