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ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Hundreds of firefighters battled forest fires in Portugal, Greece and Spain on Sunday, with Spain and Italy sending reinforcements to Portugal to help put out huge blazes that have burned for more than three days.
Authorities urged residents in parts of Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, to stay indoors and close windows and doors because of toxic fumes from a burning and engulfing recycling factory.
Another large forest fire broke out Sunday afternoon west of the Greek capital, Athens. The fire department said 210 firefighters, supported by volunteers, special teams and 29 aircraft, including water-dropping planes and helicopters, were deployed to douse the fire burning in a pine forest in the Mandra area. Authorities raced to extinguish the fire before nightfall, when aircraft could no longer carry out firefighting operations.
In the Vouzela region in central Portugal, more than 1,200 firefighters supported by nearly 400 vehicles and 15 aircraft tried to extinguish the fire that broke out Thursday, according to Civil Protection authorities. Forest fires had burned an area of 12,000 hectares (30,000 acres) as of Sunday, according to information from the European Union’s Copernicus satellite mapping agency.
The European Union’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid said Spain sent 120 firefighters and 45 vehicles as reinforcements to Portugal on Friday, while three firefighting planes from Italy and Spain were also sent to help.
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By Sunday afternoon, the fire appeared to have begun to subside, and Portuguese media quoted officials as saying that the fire no longer had active hotspots but that some hot spots remained.
In Spain, forest fires burning since Friday in the northeastern region of Girona have scorched nearly 2,200 hectares (5,400 acres), the EFE news agency said. Catalan Fire Service operations chief Eduard Martinez said the blaze had a circumference of 40 kilometers (25 miles) and firefighters might not be able to control it on Sunday, EFE said.
Toxic smoke from forest fires in northern Greece
On the other side of Southern Europe, in Greece, a rapid fire at a recycling factory broke out late Saturday near the suburb of Oraiokastro in Thessaloniki, triggering evacuation warnings in three suburbs and a facility housing 157 people with disabilities.
Strong winds fanned the flames, and about 160 firefighters were deployed to battle the blaze throughout the night until water-dropping planes could take off at dawn, the fire department said.
Oraiokastro Mayor Pandelis Tsakiris told Greek state television station ERT that several businesses and homes were damaged but a clearer picture would emerge once authorities carried out a full evaluation.
A 76-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of starting the fire due to his negligence by causing sparks with his vehicle that caused vegetation near the road to catch fire, the fire department said. He is scheduled to appear before prosecutors on Sunday.
The fire occurred days after another forest fire in a nearby area killed a 12-year-old boy and his father.
Most fires in Greece are caused by negligence, the fire brigade says
Fire department spokesman Brig. Ioannis Artopoios, speaking on ERT TV on Sunday, said that around 85% of forest fires in Greece were caused by negligence, including sparks produced by the use of agricultural machinery, discarded cigarettes and the use of outdoor barbecues. “This means most of them could have been avoided,” he said.
Greece often experiences devastating forest fires during its hot, dry summers. In 2018, fires east of Athens killed more than 100 people, while a massive fire in 2023, which hit a remote nature reserve in northeastern Greece, was the largest forest fire ever recorded in the EU.
The country is increasingly turning to technology to combat the threat of fires, which are being exacerbated by climate change. They are integrating four satellites, launched into low orbit in May, that will monitor forest fires.
So far this summer, Greece has avoided the heat wave that has hit much of Western Europe in recent weeks. However, there are still dozens of fires throughout the country, both on the mainland and on the country’s islands.
© 2026 Canadian Press
