Overview
- Two Greek firefighters died after they were trapped while fighting a wildfire in the Rethymno region of Crete, the Greek Fire Service confirmed.
- Local officials say the blaze spread quickly under strong winds and produced a fire front estimated at about 15 kilometers near the village of Krya Vrisi.
- Greece deployed 156 firefighters and volunteers to the scene and used four firefighting aircraft plus four helicopters in the response.
- Authorities ordered evacuations for residents of three nearby villages as the fire remained described by local leaders as out of control.
- The EU emergency response centre warned of elevated wildfire risk for Greece and Italy in the coming weeks as large fires also burn in Spain and France, raising pressure on regional resources.