Wildfires force 8,000 to evacuate in Crete as Mediterranean burns

Wildfires in Crete have forced approximately 8,000 people to evacuate overnight as strong winds up to 125 km/h fan flames across the Greek island, according to BBC News. Three firefighters have died, including two trapped on Wednesday near Krya Vrysi in the Rethymno region and a third on the Greek mainland near the port town of Gytheio in the Peloponnese.

The Hellenic Fire Service identified the two Crete firefighters as 58-year-old Emmanouil Stratidakis and 25-year-old Pantelis Diamantakis. Both are scheduled to be buried on Thursday. The fire broke out on Wednesday in the Rethymno region and has since spread rapidly, destroying homes and agricultural land. It remains one of the biggest fires currently active on the island and is still burning out of control.

Rethymno's deputy regional governor Maria Lioni called Wednesday a "dark day" for the region. She said gusts overnight reached up to 11 on the Beaufort scale, classified as "violent" wind. Lioni said there was no clear picture of the destruction so far, and that containing the fire was the main priority. Hundreds of firefighters have been deployed to the region. Those evacuated from their homes overnight were initially moved to temporary shelters; later, some were allowed to return.

Bianca Boorer, visiting the coastal resort of Agios Pavlos with her mother on a yoga retreat, described the scene: "I was watching the fire and I just didn't know what to do. It was like a volcano down the side of the mountain." She reported that bar staff told evacuees to get in cars and drive away, but only two people had cars and eleven people tried to get into one tiny car. Boorer said the breakfast venue, Agios Pavlos hotel, and the yoga studio all burned down.

The fire erupted during one of Crete's busiest months for tourism, compounding the disruption. The flames threaten resorts and villages across the island as the heatwave that has gripped southern Europe stretches on.

The Crete fire is one of many active across the Mediterranean. In Spain, more than 200,000 hectares have burned in 2026, roughly five times above the average for this time of year, per BBC reporting. A fire in the region of Ávila has now burned more than 43,000 hectares over the past week and is considered the largest recorded wildfire in Spanish history. A major fire west of Madrid consumed more than 66,000 hectares and has stopped spreading. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declared an end to the national emergency for wildfires in the Ávila and Madrid regions but urged "extreme caution" during the fourth heatwave of the summer.

Wildfires have erupted in Spain's north-western provinces of Zamora and León, not far from the border with Portugal, with more than 1,000 people evacuated. In Portugal, five people were injured in a fire in the eastern town of Valpaços. The area of land burned in Portugal is higher than usual for this point in July.

In France, a small amount of rain fell near Bordeaux on Thursday, raising hopes that the Gironde wildfire, which has burned an area larger than the US city of Detroit and destroyed 240 homes, might soon be contained. The Gironde region's fire service said it was "reasonably optimistic" given that the fire had not grown in size since the weekend. Around 84,000 of the 220,000 displaced residents in France were allowed to return home on Thursday. According to data from the European Forest Fire Information Service, more than 90,000 hectares have burned across France this year, higher than any other year on record.

Fire-prone conditions are expected to spread toward central Europe, with Greece and Turkey among the countries worst affected. In Turkey, hundreds of homes have been evacuated, but the majority of fires, mainly in the south, have been brought under control.

Most wildfires are started by humans, whether deliberately or accidentally, but climate change is strengthening weather conditions conducive to fires spreading, per BBC reporting. Last winter was mild and wet, encouraging vegetation growth, which then dried out in successive heatwaves, generating tinder-dry fuel for wildfires. Some researchers have warned that the Mediterranean's forests and scrublands are not being properly managed, leaving plenty of vegetation as fuel for fires. The European fire season typically extends into August and September. With more hot weather on the way in the coming days, fire season figures are likely to keep rising.