Dozens of homes lost in Greek wildfires as France contains historic blaze

Greece: Wind-driven fires overwhelm defences

Firefighters in Greece faced a punishing night as strong winds drove wildfires across multiple fronts, particularly near the coastal village of Porto Germeno on the Gulf of Corinth, some 70 kilometres northwest of Athens. Around 500 firefighters, including reinforcements from Romania and France, battled flames across an area that Theodore Giannaros, a wildfire meteorologist at the National Observatory of Athens, estimated at more than 4,000 to 5,000 hectares. Bulldozers cut firebreaks and heavy machinery was brought in from the Attica region, but ground crews made little headway against walls of flame that at times rose above 20-metre trees.

If the wind doesn't ease, the disaster cannot be stopped.

Wind speeds recorded by the National Observatory of Athens reached 130 kilometres per hour, grounding firefighting aircraft for much of Saturday. A brief lull in the early evening allowed a few helicopters to take off, but nightfall forced another pause. Authorities evacuated several villages, including Alepochori, Psatha and Zachouli, and the coast guard rescued remaining residents from Porto Germeno's beach by sea. Greek media reported dozens of houses destroyed along with vehicles and even fire service vehicles, and a civil protection official told Skai TV that up to 150 homes are believed to have been damaged. The fire danger rating remained at "high" to "very high" across much of the country, though it dropped from the maximum red alert.

France: Historic blaze contained, but vigilance remains

In southwestern France, the massive wildfire in the Gironde department was declared under control on Saturday after more than a week of intense firefighting. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the fire, the largest in France since 1949, was no longer spreading. It has burned 42,000 hectares of pine forest near Bordeaux and destroyed 252 of the 2,725 buildings in the affected area. Of the 224,000 people evacuated, 208,000 had been allowed to return by Saturday evening, with more than 10,000 additional returns expected soon.

By and large, the fires in our country are now under control.

Prime Minister Lecornu's assessment came with a caveat from the local prefecture: a fire under control is not extinguished. Firefighters and farmers continued to tackle smoke and hotspots across the area. More than 330 firefighters have been injured, though no civilian casualties have been reported. Meanwhile, a separate fire that rekindled on Friday in the Var department, between Marseille and Cannes, had spread to 1,800 hectares by Saturday, prompting the evacuation of about 2,800 people. The prefect described the situation as "a battle that has been won" but stressed that firefighting operations would continue through the night on an exceptional scale. Swiss army Super Puma helicopters, deployed to Corsica since Wednesday, had their mission extended by four days to assist French forces.

Spain and Turkey: Mixed picture

Spain saw improvements, with fires in the Madrid, Ávila and Toledo regions largely contained. However, 46 active wildfires were still burning across the country, including in Zamora province near the Portuguese border, where 56 firefighters and 21 vehicles from Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia arrived to help. In Turkey, Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumakli said 258 of 260 fires nationwide had been brought under control, and no fires currently posed a danger, though strong winds continued to complicate efforts.

What comes next

Weather forecasts offered some hope for Greece, with winds expected to ease on Sunday, potentially allowing aircraft to resume operations. On Crete, a large fire was under control, though 220 firefighters remained on scene to extinguish flare-ups; investigators were examining whether damage to power poles had sparked the blaze. The Preveli palm forest, one of Europe's few natural palm forests, was only partially damaged. In France, authorities warned that active zones within the Gironde fire perimeter still posed a risk, and the Var fire remained a concern due to forecast strong, dry winds.