In Crete, firefighters struggled overnight to bring the wildfire in Rethymnon under control, after it was made worse by strong winds. Thousands of people were evacuated from the area, some by boat, as thick smoke made roads impassable, but efforts are now moving in the right direction.
"The situation in Rethymnon is better, but the fire is not yet under control. There are still many hot spots," a fire department spokesman told AFP.
At the same time, the strong winds and dense smoke create conditions of almost zero visibility and severe turbulence, making water drops from the air extremely difficult, if not impossible.
Peak season
Most evacuees have returned to their homes and hotels as Crete's peak tourist season continues. Travel agencies Ving and Apollo said on Thursday that no Swedish tourists had to evacuate.
A wildfire has been burning on the island of Paros, and strong winds have made it more difficult. But the situation there is also improving, the fire department told AFP.
On Friday, however, another forest fire broke out on a mountain outside Athens, near the suburb of Haidari. The Greek emergency services have ordered a partial evacuation in part of the area, according to AFP.
Three firefighters have died during firefighting efforts in Greece in the past week, two in Crete and one on the Peloponnese peninsula.
More people are allowed to return home
In France, authorities are lifting evacuation orders for additional areas in fire-ravaged Gironde. Residents of two municipalities and a couple of campsites are now allowed to return home. This means that around 144,000 of the more than 220,000 who were evacuated in connection with the giant fire have been allowed to return.
According to French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, “the worst is probably behind us.”
"We will still be extremely vigilant, but cautiously optimistic," he told French television channel BFMTV.
In Spain, the giant fires in Ávila and around Madrid are also under control, and on Thursday, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez lifted the national state of emergency that had been in place in the country due to the fires.
