{"id":24689,"date":"2026-08-02T00:36:40","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T19:36:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=24689"},"modified":"2026-08-02T00:36:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T19:36:40","slug":"wildfire-danger-in-europe-shifts-to-greece-as-evacuation-orders-remain-in-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=24689","title":{"rendered":"Wildfire danger in Europe shifts to Greece as evacuation orders remain in France"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>Europe&#8217;s wildfire emergency eased across much of <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/western-europe-hottest-june-record-2026-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">western Europe<\/a><\/span> on Saturday, but its most dangerous front shifted to Greece, where gale-force winds drove flames through a seaside resort, forced hundreds to flee by sea and hampered firefighting aircraft.<\/p>\n<p>For Greece, the danger carried grim resonance: a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/greece-wildfires-athens-firefighters-shocked-to-find-charred-bodies-victims-of-fast-moving-blaze\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">2018 wildfire<\/a> at the seaside community of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/greece-wildfires-athens-greeks-flee-to-sea-escape-flames-death-toll-latest\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">Mati<\/a>, near Athens, killed 104 people, making it Europe&#8217;s deadliest wildfire this century.<\/p>\n<p>In southwestern France, firefighters held a\u00a0<span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/france-wildfires-europe-evacuations-lift-george-clooney-displaced\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">vast wildfire<\/a><\/span>\u00a0within its perimeter, with about 198,000 people now allowed home after what may have been the country&#8217;s <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/wildfires-france-spain-heat-wave-forecast\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">largest peacetime evacuation<\/a><\/span>. The country&#8217;s interior minister, Laurent Nunez, said the blaze in Gironde &#8220;is now under control with vigilance points in a few sectors.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In southeastern France, about 1,500 firefighters are still working to contain another wildfire in the Var region.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed__float-wrap\">\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-image is-image embed--float-none embed--size-medium\" data-ads=\"{\" extrawordcount=\"\">\n<p>      <span class=\"img embed__content \"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/08\/01\/d9103584-67df-478e-846d-6d70a4a7441f\/thumbnail\/620x413\/97cd053b0b800274db983f41eb3534b9\/ap26211684203240.jpg#\" alt=\"APTOPIX France Wildfires \" height=\"413\" width=\"620\" class=\" lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/08\/01\/d9103584-67df-478e-846d-6d70a4a7441f\/thumbnail\/620x413\/97cd053b0b800274db983f41eb3534b9\/ap26211684203240.jpg 1x, https:\/\/assets3.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/08\/01\/d9103584-67df-478e-846d-6d70a4a7441f\/thumbnail\/1240x826\/b27063140afba5a35e92bfe3b19fc772\/ap26211684203240.jpg 2x\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/span><figcaption class=\"embed__caption-container\">\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__caption\">The light flows through a charred forest near Ares, during wildfires in southwestern France, Thursday, July 30, 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                AP Photo\/Baz Ratner<\/p>\n<p>                          <\/span><br \/>\n              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Major <span class=\"link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/wildfires-france-spain-madrid-bordeaux-evacuations-europe\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-invalid-url-rewritten-http=\"\">fires in Spain<\/a><\/span> were also no longer advancing, and Portugal&#8217;s main blaze was under control.<\/p>\n<p>A second French fire stopped expanding overnight after racing across 10 square kilometers (4 square miles) in six hours Friday \u2014 &#8220;faster than a horse at full gallop,&#8221; according to the prefecture. But it remained active Saturday and 2,500 people were still unable to return home.<\/p>\n<p>The gains in western Europe marked a sharp turn from the height of the crisis, when fires in France and Spain alone drove a third of a million people from homes and vacation sites, emptied towns during the summer holiday season and stretched firefighters, aircraft and emergency services across simultaneous emergencies.<\/p>\n<p>Europe is Earth&#8217;s fastest-warming continent, heating at more than twice the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union&#8217;s Copernicus climate service. Rising temperatures and prolonged drought leave vegetation drier and more combustible, allowing fires to spread faster and burn more intensely.<\/p>\n<h2>Gale-force winds drive Greek fires<\/h2>\n<p>Nearly 500 firefighters battled Saturday to protect Porto Germeno, a popular resort on the Gulf of Corinth, as flames tore through thick pine forest and smoke blocked out the sun.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed__float-wrap\">\n<figure class=\"embed embed--type-image is-image embed--float-none embed--size-medium\" data-ads=\"{\" extrawordcount=\"\">\n<p>      <span class=\"img embed__content \"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/08\/01\/32cfd6fb-b878-4908-bbda-3fb71c57813d\/thumbnail\/620x413\/117799f303bdfa1db892df19d81d0862\/ap26213370157335.jpg#\" alt=\"Greece Wildfires \" height=\"413\" width=\"620\" class=\" lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/08\/01\/32cfd6fb-b878-4908-bbda-3fb71c57813d\/thumbnail\/620x413\/117799f303bdfa1db892df19d81d0862\/ap26213370157335.jpg 1x, https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/08\/01\/32cfd6fb-b878-4908-bbda-3fb71c57813d\/thumbnail\/1240x826\/ebbe7b419e5552b5fb88542881650e01\/ap26213370157335.jpg 2x\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/span><figcaption class=\"embed__caption-container\">\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__caption\">Firefighters operate near a burning forest during a wildfire near Porto Germeno, northwest of Athens, Greece, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>                  <span class=\"embed__credit\"><\/p>\n<p>                AP Photo\/Michael Varaklas<\/p>\n<p>                          <\/span><br \/>\n              <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The fire broke out Friday near the neighboring coastal village of Agios Vasileios. About 300 people were evacuated by sea, and authorities issued further evacuation orders Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A pristine forest, a paradise, was surrendered to the hands of the fire,&#8221; said Minas Tzortzanis, a 60-year-old farmer and local resident. &#8220;There are no words to explain what has happened. Destruction. Total destruction.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Theodore Giannaros, a wildfire meteorologist at the National Observatory of Athens, estimated that 40 to 50 square kilometers (15 to 19 square miles) had been affected. Authorities had not issued an official burned-area figure.<\/p>\n<p>The operation also included specialized forest-fire teams, crews temporarily deployed from France and Romania, 19 water-dropping planes and 11 helicopters.<\/p>\n<p>New fires erupted elsewhere in Greece. A blaze east of Nafpaktos prompted evacuation alerts for at least four villages.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The very strong to gale-force winds continue to create exceptionally difficult conditions,&#8221; Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Minister Evangelos Tournas said.<\/p>\n<p>Extreme turbulence was preventing some aircraft from collecting water or approaching the fires closely enough to make drops, he said.<\/p>\n<h2>Evacuation orders remain in western France<\/h2>\n<p>The Gironde fire has burned 420 square kilometers (162 square miles) of pine forest west of Bordeaux, an area four times the size of Paris.<\/p>\n<p>It remained contained within its perimeter Saturday but had not been declared &#8220;fixed&#8221; \u2014 the point at which crews determine that a fire is no longer advancing. Active sectors and buried hot spots persisted.<\/p>\n<p>Authorities reopened more communities Friday, but several remained largely deserted Saturday. Much of the forested Cap Ferret peninsula stayed evacuated because a nearby hot spot could flare again, cut its limited road access and trap returning residents.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Today, the fire is still not fixed. It is contained,&#8221; Lt. Col. Eric Pitault told reporters.<\/p>\n<p>Crews used tactical burns overnight. Along 240 kilometers (149 miles) of fire edge, heat could remain hidden underground and erupt again.<\/p>\n<h2>Renewed blaze remains active in southern France<\/h2>\n<p>In the Mediterranean Var region, defensive lines around the Gros Bessillon fire held overnight and no additional ground burned, Var Prefect Simon Babre told French media Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>The blaze had been declared fixed earlier in the week before mistral gusts revived embers Friday and sent it racing through dry hills in temperatures approaching 42 C (108 F).<\/p>\n<p>It remained active Saturday, with 1,300 firefighters deployed and about 2,500 people still unable to return home. The fire&#8217;s sudden return &#8220;defies understanding,&#8221; Babre said.<\/p>\n<p>Twenty French departments were under an orange heat warning Saturday, mostly in the east and southeast. Eight departments faced a high forest-fire risk.<\/p>\n<h2>Returning residents confront what the fire erased<\/h2>\n<p>For residents returning to the Gironde fire zone, the easing emergency brought a first reckoning with what had been lost.<\/p>\n<p>In Le Porge, one of the communities hardest hit, Matthieu Plessis returned Saturday to the ruins of a home that had been in his family for seven generations.<\/p>\n<p>Just over a week earlier, smoke had turned the afternoon almost to night as flames raced along both sides of the road. Now the 40-year-old mechanic drove through blackened forest and struggled to identify what had once stood there.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There are little details here and there that I recognize, but otherwise everything is unrecognizable,&#8221; Plessis said. &#8220;You don&#8217;t even know what was here anymore, or who lived where.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He had to force open the property&#8217;s gate because its key had burned. A chimney and twisted metal frames were among the few clues to where the rooms had been. The tools and machinery from his bicycle-repair business were gone.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not easy. I&#8217;m trying to stay strong and help other people now,&#8221; Plessis said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t want to spend the next 10 years feeling sorry for myself.&#8221;<\/p>\n<section class=\"content__body--footer\">\n<\/section>\n<p>  <!-- data-recirc-source=\"queryly\" --><\/p>\n<aside class=\"component list recirculation component--type-recirculation  \">\n<p><h3 class=\"component__title\">More from CBS News<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"component__item-recirc-block\">\n<p><h3 class=\"component__title\">Go deeper with The Free Press<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<section class=\"content__body--footer\">\n      <!-- tags --><\/p>\n<section class=\"content__tags\">\n<p class=\"content__tags__label\">In:<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Europe&#8217;s wildfire emergency eased across much of western Europe on Saturday, but its most dangerous front shifted to Greece, where gale-force winds drove flames through a seaside resort, forced hundreds to flee by sea and hampered firefighting aircraft. For Greece, the danger carried grim resonance: a\u00a02018 wildfire at the seaside community of Mati, near Athens,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24690,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/assets2.cbsnewsstatic.com\/hub\/i\/r\/2026\/08\/01\/32cfd6fb-b878-4908-bbda-3fb71c57813d\/thumbnail\/1200x630\/49f4e73be59918fc5eab13e63542ca1e\/ap26213370157335.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24689\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}