Wildfires have forced mass evacuations across several European nations this week, with a blaze near a Croatian coastal town killing one person and injuring dozens, while thousands more fled fires in Greece, France and England.
A wildfire tore through homes overnight near Omis, a resort town on Croatia's Dalmatian coast, killing one person, injuring 40 and prompting roughly 1,200 evacuations. Of those hospitalized in nearby Split, seven remained in serious condition, the hospital said.
Resident Ljubica Uglesic described fleeing the flames by car, saying, "The flames were licking both sides of the road. When I got a little further around the bend and looked, I saw flames shooting up from under my hood. The car was on fire!"
A Croatian Navy landing-assault ship stood by in the Port of Omiš to help transport evacuees, and reception centers opened in Omiš, Dugi Rat, Makarska and Split to house displaced residents.
Chief fire commander Slavko Tucaković called the blaze "one of the most difficult fires in the history of the Republic of Croatia.”
Greece, France and England Evacuate Residents
Hundreds of people were evacuated by boat from the seaside town of Siviri in northern Greece as a forest fire advanced on the peninsula town near Thessaloniki, with the coastguard reporting more than 300 people removed via dinghies and fishing vessels. More than 140 firefighters, nine aircraft and seven helicopters were deployed to the Greek fire.In southwestern France, authorities evacuated 525 people from the village of Luglon in the Landes region after a new wildfire broke out near an area already scarred by major fires earlier in the summer.
Meanwhile, a large grass fire in central England spread from a golf course in Stourbridge into nearby homes. Local resident Paul Nash, whose neighbor's house burned down, recounted the panic, saying, "I heard a scream, and all the trees along the railway track were exploding. They weren't just setting fire, they were exploding. So we just grabbed everything and left.”
National Fire Chiefs Council chair Phil Garrigan said that wildfires in Britain and Wales have hit record levels for a second straight year, adding, "We're anticipating this being not just a record-breaking year, but a considerable increase on the number of wildfires previously experienced.”
