Firefighters under pressure amid raging wildfires

AGIOS KONSTANTINOS: North America and Europe have been ravaged by wildfires this summer after a period of record-breaking heatwaves and little rain conditions that scientists say have been exacerbated by climate change.

In Greece, two firefighting helicopters collided while helping to control a huge wildfire on Sunday that has destroyed more than 100 homes northwest of Athens, while a fresh blaze forced evacuations on the popular tourist island of Kefalonia.

State broadcaster ERT reported that one crewmember had been found safe, while rescuers were searching for the second.

Television footage showed one of the helicopters explode and plunge to the ground in flames after an apparent rotor collision.

Helicopters collide in Greece as tourist destinations evacuated; blazes in Spain, France show signs of easing; flames roar through Spokane as Washington state declares emergency

Meanwhile, destructive blazes in France and Spain showed signs of easing over the weekend, but several wildfires have broken out in Greece after a period of relative calm there.

Gale-force winds that had fuelled a fire around Porto Germeno on the Gulf of Corinth 60 km (40 miles) northwest of Athens subsided, but flames crossed a mountain to the south and reached the settlement of Veniza and a military firing range, igniting unexploded ordnance.

Firefighters focused their efforts on preventing fire from advancing towards the coastal town of Megara, which has a population of around 30,000.

In France, wildfires in the Gironde and Var departments showed signs of easing. Authorities reported only minor flare-ups in the southwestern Gironde area and said the blaze in the southeastern Var department had not spread overnight.

In Monfort-Sur-Argents, in the region of Var, Georges Blanc, who fled from the fire, returned home and was busy putting out hot embers to prevent a flare-up, while firefighters watered the wider area.

In central Spain, wildfires that ripped through tens of thousands of hectares over the past week were mostly under control, though firefighters were dealing with reignitions in some areas.

In the western province of Caceres, a forest blaze erupted on Saturday, prompting the evacuation of around 800 people. Those residents were allowed to return on Sunday but remained confined to their homes as the fire was still active.

Meanwhile, a fast-moving wildfire roared through the US city of Spokane on Saturday, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate as Washington state declared an emergency over one of its worst fire seasons on record.

Washington Governor Bob Ferguson declared a state of emergency and noted that the Pacific Northwest state is enduring a fourth consecutive year of drought as climate change creates conditions propitious for destructive wildfires. Blazes are burning around the region.

More than 200,000 acres (80,900 hectares) were burning across the northwestern state during a record fourth consecutive year of statewide drought.

Video of the wildfire shot by people driving through the city of some 230,000 on Saturday showed house after house engulfed by flames or reduced to ash as wind-fueled blazes burned out of control in hot, bone-dry weather.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2026