France, Spain and Greece battled major wildfires yesterday as soaring temperatures, parched vegetation and powerful winds extended a summer of deadly fires, mass evacuations and mounting disruption across Europe.

France arrested two people on suspicion of arson as crews contained a vast fire near Bordeaux, Spain fought a blaze in the eastern province of Castellon and Greece battled fires on two fronts that killed three firefighters and forced tourists and residents to flee parts of Crete.

“The wind is unbelievable – you can’t stand sometimes. The flames were huge, it was really scary,” resident Chrissa Gioukaki told Reuters at Agia Galini, a coastal resort on Crete’s southern coast where a number of tourists and locals found shelter for the night in an indoor gym.

Emergency crews have faced barely a pause between heatwaves and fire fronts this summer across an increasingly tinder-dry Europe, the world’s fastest warming continent.

EU countries are having an above-average season for wildfires, already overtaking 2025’s record-breaking year.

Yesterday’s temperatures showed Europe was the continent furthest from its historic norm, according to the Reuters Climate Monitor. The average high is forecast to be 25.3 degrees Celsius.