The crackling fire left burning forests, taking thousands of firefighters to halt their ravenous march. Residents fill buckets of water to put out the fire in their towns. And tourists huddle with their belongings, not in hotels or resorts, but in evacuation centers.
Hundreds of wildfires that have broken out in recent days across southern Europe and northern Africa have forced the evacuation of thousands of people. A heat wave in the region sent temperatures near record highs and dried out the ground, officials said, the conditions for wildfires to spread.
In Greece, fires ravaged forests on the mainland and islands, including Corfu, Evia and Rhodes. More than 20,000 people, many of them visitors, have been evacuated in recent days. On Tuesday, two pilots working to put out a fire on the island of Evia were killed in a plane crash, the country’s prime minister said.
In Algeria, more than 30 people were killed, including 10 soldiers in the northern Mediterranean city of Bejaia, officials said.
Here is a selection of photos from the wildfires.
Residents try to put out a fire on the Greek island of Rhodes on Monday.
Burnt trees along the beach in the village of Kiotari in Rhodes on Monday.
A firefighter after rescuing a cat and two rabbits from a fire between the villages of Kiotari and Gennadi in Rhodes on Monday.
Firefighters are trying to put out a forest fire raging in northwestern Tunisia near the border with Algeria on Monday.
An aircraft dropped water on the fire in Rhodes on Tuesday.
Watching wildfires in Rhodes on Tuesday.
The bodies of charred goats on the side of a road in Rhodes on Tuesday.
Tourists and residents try to put out a fire in Rhodes on Monday.
Beach bars destroyed by wildfires in Rhodes on Tuesday.
A satellite image showing fires burning in Rhodes on Monday.
A fire near an airport near Palermo, Sicily, on Monday.
Tourists take shelter in a sports hall on Sunday after being evacuated following a massive fire in Rhodes.
Residents prepare for the impending fire in Rhodes on Monday.
Fight the fire in Rhodes on Monday.
Watching a fire near a village in Rhodes on Tuesday.
