Balkans braces for more blazes as heatwave intensifies

Balkans braces for more blazes as heatwave intensifies
by AFP Staff Writers
Zagreb (AFP) June 25, 2025

Firefighters across the Balkans were facing warnings of more wildfires and millions were told to stay at home during the hottest parts of the day, as a heatwave intensified on Wednesday.

Fires already ripped through dozens of homes in Croatia's tourism-focused south on the weekend and firefighters in Albania battled to get more than a dozen blazes under control on Wednesday.

Government agencies in several parts of the Balkans were expecting temperatures to approach 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Thursday.

In Croatia, with areas still recovering from fires that forced evacuations and razed homes over the weekend, the fire authority warned of a high fire danger across the country for Thursday.

"We urge citizens to be extra cautious and to contribute to safety along the coast and inland through responsible behaviour," Chief Fire Commander Slavko Tucakovic said in a statement.

From the capital Zagreb in the north to Dalmatia in the south, several regions would be on the "highest level of warning" on Thursday for health and fire risk, the authority said.

"Let's not allow scenes of raging wildfires to become our daily reality," the authority said.

As Albania wrestled its current crop of forest fires under control, there were already fears the hot and dry conditions could spark fresh blazes.

And Serbia too was facing warnings over extreme heat, with the capital Belgrade climbing to 37C on Wednesday and expected to reach 39C on Thursday.

People in several countries were warned to avoid being outdoors in the hottest parts of the day and work from home if possible.

Greek island wildfire rages for fourth straight day
Athens (AFP) June 25, 2025 - Greek firefighters struggled Wednesday to contain a wildfire that has destroyed more than 4,000 hectares (10,000 acres) of land on the island of Chios over the past four days.

Chios, in the northern Aegean Sea, is Greece's fifth-largest island and is currently facing five separate fire outbreaks.

"The fire has not yet been contained but it is decreasing" in activity, a fire department official told AFP.

The fire service said around 400 firefighters, 85 vehicles, four water bombers and seven helicopters had been deployed, with "sporadic outbreaks" remaining mainly in the south of the island.

A Georgian woman, working as a house cleaner, was arrested on Tuesday after admitting to having thrown a cigarette butt on the ground that allegedly triggering the fire, the Greek news agency ANA and the fire service reported.

The fire forced the evacuation of hundreds of asylum seekers from a reception centre when it started on Sunday, and the evacuation of seven villages on Monday.

Authorities said the fire was also dangerously close to fields of valuable mastic trees, whose aromatic sap is used in making chewing gum, alcoholic drinks and pharmaceuticals.

Mastic is the island's most famous product, cited on UNESCO's World Heritage list.

Greece has become particularly vulnerable in recent years to fires in summer fuelled by strong winds, drought and high temperatures linked to climate change.

Weather agencies forecast a heatwave in the coming days with temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit), including in the capital Athens.