‘We’re being cooked alive:’ Europe burns as temperatures soar above 100 degrees
Europe faces record wildfire season with deadly fires across France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Albania as temperatures soar above 100°F.
Firefighters battle a wildfire in Trancoso, Portugal, on August 11. (Photo credit: Patricia de Melo Moreira/AFP/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)
(CNN) — Europe is on track for its worst wildfire season on record as swaths of the continent — including France, Spain, Albania, Portugal and Greece — battle raging, deadly fires as temperature soar above 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Wildfires are not unusual in Europe but the climate crisis is driving hotter, drier weather, which is setting the stage for fiercer fire seasons.
Blazes on the continent have burned through more acres so far this year than any of the last 19 years, according to a CNN analysis of data from the European Forest Fire Information System.
Nearly 2.4 million acres have been consumed by fires to date, more than double the average amount of land burned — which would normally be just over 865,000 acres by early August — putting 2025 on pace to be the most expansive European wildfire season to date.
In Spain, nearly 1,000 firefighters have been deployed across the country and the fires have led to thousands being put under evacuation orders.
A large fire broke out in Tres Cantos near Madrid Monday, burning through around 2,500 acres and killing one man, who died in hospital after suffering burns over 98% of his body, according to a Reuters report.
The fire had largely been contained by Tuesday but dozens of fires raged elsewhere, including in the northwest region of Castille and Leon.
In southern Spain, around 2,000 people, including tourists, have been evacuated from the popular town of Tarifa as a wildfire blazed in view of the beaches. Celebrity chef José Andrés posted images Tuesday from the area showing flames burning across the hillsides.
A fire blazing in the popular tourist hot spot of Tarifa, Spain, on August 11. (Photo credit: Nono Rico/Europa Press/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)
People watch as a helicopter draws water at Atlanterra Beach on August 12, a day after many people, including locals and tourists, were evacuated from Tarifa due to wildfires. (Photo credit: Marcelo del Pozo/Reuters via CNN Newsource)
There may be little respite from fire risk in Spain as temperatures in parts of the country push above 110 degrees Fahrenheit this week. “The danger is extraordinary,” warned the Spanish weather agency AEMET Tuesday of the heat.
Fires are also burning across Portugal. A large fire near Trancoso in central Portugal has burned through more than 7,500 acres, according to Europe’s Copernicus Emergency Management Service. Around 1,200 firefighters and 400 vehicles have been mobilized to battle the blaze.
Fires in the district of Vila Real in north Portugal have been burning for 10 days. “We are being cooked alive, this cannot continue,” said Alexandre Favaios, the mayor, according to a Reuters report.
Temperatures are expected to exceed 104 degrees in many parts of the country Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the country’s weather agency, IPMA.
Flames and smoke from a wildfire at the Vesuvius National Park in Terzigno, a commune in Naples, Italy, on August 8. (Photo credit: Eliano Imperato/Anadolu/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)
A Canadair firefighting aircraft drops water in Vesuvius National Park, Italy, on August 10. Europe is on track for its worst wildfire season on record. (Photo credit: Giuseppe Carotenuto/Reuters via CNN Newsource)
Blazes have spread across southern Europe in recent days. Dozens of fires ignited near Mount Vesuvius in southern Italy on Sunday, closing mountain trails. The country’s health ministry has issued red heat alerts for 16 cities.
Nearly 2,000 French firefighters are battling to contain a fast-moving blaze that has burnt through an area bigger than Paris and killed an elderly woman.
In France, a huge wildfire in the southern region of Aude — the country’s largest since 1949, officials said — is now mostly contained, but officials are concerned it could reignite as a punishing heat wave continues. The fire claimed at least one life last week.
Many Balkans countries have also been battling to bring fires under control. Dozens of blazes are raging across Albania, including near the “Blue Eye,” a water spring and protected nature park popular with tourists.
The charred landscape in the aftermath of a wildfire on August 9 in Fontjoncouse, France. Massive wildfires raged across France's southern region of Aude, killing one person. (Photo credit: Getty Images via CNN Newsource)
In neighboring Montenegro, fires burning near the capital Podgorica sent plumes of smoke over the city, and in Croatia, firefighters managed to contain a fire that blazed near the city of Split Monday.
Europe is the world’s fastest warming continent and record heat and drought have helped fuel this summer’s fires. Scientists warn that as the human-caused climate crisis escalates, wildfires will only become more frequent and more severe.
CNN Lead Meteorologist Brandon Miller contributed to this report.
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