Italy and Greece, the countries most affected in southern Europe by the fires

Italy and Greece are so far the most affected countries, in terms of burned area, by the fires that affect several Mediterranean countries, both in southern Europe and north Africa, at the end of this month of July

In Italy, the worst continues to be on the island of Sicily, where in the last two days 700 hectares of wooded area have burned in 338 fires that have caused damage worth 60 million euros, according to a first estimate by the local Civil Protection, to which must be added another 200 million more, quantified by the agricultural sector, coinciding with the heat wave that has accompanied them with temperatures above 45 degrees.

This Thursday some thirty fires are still active, although the situation has improved in the province of Messina, except for some outbreaks in the territories of Santa Teresa, Letojanni and Savoca, while in Mandanici the situation “is under control”, but several Families have seen their homes destroyed, hectares of forest heritage have been burned, and the lighting, telephone, and water network systems have been damaged by the flames.

In Palermo the fires also continue and since this Thursday morning the fire-fighting planes have been flying over the wooded area of Altofonte, while the Fico valley has been burning for two days, but the firefighters assure that this fire at least It is controlled.

In the same province, the flames did not spare the Segestan Archaeological Park, whose surroundings were burned, although they did not damage the Greek temple and the theater in an incident that, according to the president of the Sicilian region, Renato Schifani, was provoked.

594 fires in Greece

Greece is the other southern European country most affected so far this summer, with large fires throughout its territory and new outbreaks in the interior of the country, while the flames on the islands of Rhodes, Corfu and Euboea continue out of control.

The front that most worries the authorities at the moment is the one that began this Wednesday five kilometers west of Volos, in central Greece, as it threatens the industrial zone of this city of 150,000 inhabitants: last morning it was necessary to evacuate at least 9 coastal towns.

According to the Minister of Climate Crisis and Civil Protection, Vasilis Kikilias, a total of 594 fires have affected Greece in the last ten days and, in addition to damage to property and the environment, have so far left five fatalities.

In Rhodes, some 16,000 hectares of forest have already burned, several houses have been burned and an unquantified number of animals have died, while 19,000 people -7,000 of them tourists- had to be evacuated.

In Euboea, a major front reignited last night around the coastal town of Caristus, while in Corfu, in northwestern Greece, another major forest fire continues to rage out of control.

Spain is also facing several fires this July although, so far, they have not reached the devastating levels of last year: one of the last to be extinguished on the peninsula was that of Santa Colomba de Curueño (León) this morning, while In the Canary Islands, the one declared on Tuesday at the Gran Canaria summit has been stabilized.

However, the firefighting teams are working against the reactivation of the fire that broke out on the island of La Palma on July 15 and is burning again in the Caldera de Taburiente National Park, in an area that is difficult to access.

In North Africa, the Algerian authorities confirmed control of all the fires that especially affected the Kabylia region and which resulted in a balance of 34 deaths and more than 300 injuries, apart from material damage, and today it was the Military Unit of Emergencies (UME) the one that has considered controlled the last active focus in Tunisia.

The UME, along with two firefighting planes from the Spanish Air Force, has participated in extinguishing the flames in the Tunisian province of Tabarka.

Since Monday, this North African country has registered 14 outbreaks in eight regions with at least one fatality, with the Malloula forest being the area hardest hit due to its location: facing the sea in an area exposed to strong winds and high temperatures that have exceeded 50 degrees in various parts of the territory.