Two firefighters have died in Greece as crews in France battle a blaze four times the size of Paris

Two firefighters died on Wednesday fighting a fire on the Greek island of Crete, officials said, as workers in southern France tried to put out a wildfire that has spread to nearly four times the size of Paris. Across Europe, firefighters faced a dangerous combination of high temperatures, drought and strong winds, jeopardizing rescue efforts.

The death toll in Crete has brought a dire new dimension to the wildfire emergency from the Atlantic coast to the eastern Mediterranean. At the peak of the exodus, three-quarters of a million people were forced from their homes and resorts in France and Spain.

In the Gironde region of France, authorities said the fire did not spread during a calm night. But temperatures are forecast to reach 40 degrees Celsius, or 104 degrees Fahrenheit, and strengthening afternoon winds threaten to turn that respite into a brief respite.

The landscape was so hot that investigators believe a routine brush-clearing operation near high-voltage power lines may have caused the fire, although the work appeared to be in compliance with regulations.

At the Command Center in Lège, firefighters bent over maps spread the car park, tracking three dangerous areas: north Cap-Ferret; the forested corridor around Marcheprime, Cestas and Saint-Jean-d’Illac; and a military post near Martignas, where a severe outbreak forced a large deployment.

More than 2,200 firefighters and more than 20 aircraft remain mobilized, supported by personnel from all over France and European partners.

“We strike fast and we strike hard at any new smoke,” said Gironde fire chief Matthieu Jomain.

Beyond the command center, civilians were trying to hold the line themselves. In Souge, volunteers crowded the edges of dust lanes as a local digger plowed through the burning soil, trying to keep the flames from returning when the expected westerly winds arrived. In Lacanau, residents pump water from the lake into tanks for hot spots and fire hydrants.

“If one day a fire starts in our neck of the woods, I know very well that everyone here would do the same for us,” said Flavien Dubuch, 33, who drove from Saint-Émilion with his father to help.

Firefighters in France and Spain they have fought against raging wildfires this summer, forcing more than 300,000 people to move between the two countries. In the Gironde, more than 250,000 were ordered to evacuate over the weekend, as dry conditions and strong winds began to complicate firefighting efforts. Authorities said the evacuation order had been among officials since World War II.

It’s the hottest day this week

The progress of the large fires in the regions of Landes and Var has been stopped. That left the Gironde as France’s biggest remaining bushfire hotspot, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said.

Although tens of thousands have been allowed to return to their homes since the evacuation, authorities warned on Wednesday that danger remains.

Much of the scorched area in the Gironde is made up of pine forests and scrubland, which have grown out of control this year under successive heat waves. The extreme heat in western Europe in recent months dehydrates vegetables and lowers humidity, causing grass, brush and forest debris such as fallen branches and leaves to burn quickly as fuel.

Investigators believe that contractors working near a line that uses the Enedis power grid started the fire while using a brush cutter, said Bordeaux prosecutor Renaud Gaudeul.

Météo-France said Wednesday will be the hottest and driest day of the week, with a high risk of wildfires in all French regions. Drought now covers mainland France and Corsica, with near-dry conditions reached by August 2022.

Smoke from the Gironde and Landes fires also increased pollution in both departments, regional air quality monitors said.

Authorities in the Gironde ordered an additional 4,000 people to leave tourist areas on the Atlantic coast on Tuesday, extending what could be France’s largest peacetime evacuation.

“The situation remains strange. It is clear. We are not out of the woods,” said Gironde manager Sophie Brocas, who also authorized 60,000 evacuees to return to the three Bordeaux areas that were not affected by the fire.

The protest movement – thousands ordered to leave beach resorts as others returned with cellphones and emergency kits packed – captured just how critical the situation remains.

Disruption was spreading beyond the burned area into Bordeaux’s peak tourist season.

Edouard le Grix de la Salle, who owns Château du Grand Verdus with his brother, said legal requests to avoid the region threatened the tourism wine trade. “How come they didn’t think about protecting that sector?” he told the Associated Press.

At one point the Gironde flash created a dark thunder cloud, electrified and lit from within, which produced lightning, strong winds and new fires beyond the original front. The pyrocumulonimbus is the first recorded in France.

Two firefighters died on Wednesday while battling a wildfire in the Rethymno area of ​​Crete, Greece’s fire department said. They were among about 125 firefighters who battled the blaze, which was driven by strong winds, with four helicopters and four water drops deployed.

The circumstances of their deaths were not yet clear. The ministry said they died “while on duty to protect the lives and property of citizens and the environment.”

Tens of thousands began to return home to Spain

At the height of the crisis, around 330,000 people were evicted from their homes and holiday homes across France and Spain.

Tens of thousands of people have started to return home in central Spain after firefighters advanced in Madrid and Ávila. Evacuation orders have been lifted for around 20,000 people in the Madrid region, while stay-at-home restrictions have been lifted for another 14,000.

But 10,000 people remained under evacuation orders in Castellón, where the fire was still under control as Spain braced for a fourth heatwave of the summer.

More than 1,160 square kilometers (448 square miles) have burned across France this year, according to the Interior Ministry.

Europe is the world’s hottest continent, more than twice as hot as the global average, according to the European Union’s Copernicus weather service. Western Europe recorded its hottest June on record, with extreme heat and widespread dryness contributing to the spread and intensity of fires in France and Spain, Copernicus said.