Firefighters in Greece are battling a large forest fire sweeping across the eastern Aegean island of Chios.
The fire began in the early hours of Saturday and has been fuelled by gale force winds.
Authorities said that by Monday the blaze had destroyed about 7,000 hectares (16,000 acres) of forest and farmland.
Residents of nine villages and hamlets were evacuated from their homes over the weekend as the fire approached.
Firefighters in Greece are battling a large forest fire sweeping across the eastern Aegean island of Chios
Chios lies north-east of the capital, Athens, off the coast of Turkey.
The island is famous for its production of mastic, a natural, gum-like resin with a distinctive flavor produced only by trees on certain sections of the island.
Used as a natural chewing gum, a cooking spice and for pharmaceutical and cooking purposes, mastic resin is a major source of income for the islanders.
The strong winds were hampering efforts to extinguish the fires, despite the presence of several hundred firefighters, soldiers and volunteers, as well as firefighting planes and helicopters.
Wildfires are common during Greece’s long, hot summers, though some are believed to be started on purpose.
A further five forest and brush fires broke out on Monday across Greece, the Associated Press news agency reports, while fire crews continued to fight six fires already burning in other parts of the country.
The government has requested the assistance of water-bombing aircraft from Spain and Italy to help with the summer blazes.
[youtube pORh9zJOac4]
Firefighting teams in Spain’s Canary Islands are struggling anew to contain forest fires said to have forced some 4,700 people to leave their homes.
On the island of Tenerife, the blaze has cut road links and power lines.
On the neighboring island of La Gomera officials say the fire has destroyed part of a nature reserve with “incalculable ecological value”.
Spain has been hard hit by forest fires after its driest winter in 70 years.
Blazes are also raging in the mainland region of Galicia.
Firefighting teams in Spain’s Canary Islands are struggling anew to contain forest fires said to have forced some 4,700 people to leave their homes
Fires first erupted on La Gomera a week ago, but by Monday the blaze was thought to be under control and aircraft used to help put out the flames had even been sent elsewhere, regional official Nancy Melo told the Associated Press news agency.
But on Friday the islands’ government said the fire had now intensified, and a fresh blaze had begun on Tenerife.
About 2,500 people have been evacuated on La Gomera, along with some 2,200 people on Tenerife, the Agence France-Presse news agency quoted the regional government as saying.
On La Gomera, the flames have devoured some 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres) of land, AFP said.
That includes a tenth of the Garajonay nature reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage site, some of which is believed to have been in existence for millions of years. Officials have already said it will take at least three decades for the burned areas of the reserve to recover.
Firefighters battling the blazes were up against “high temperatures, low humidity and wind” fanning the flames, regional economy minister Javier Gonzalez Ortiz was quoted as saying.
The dry winter has been followed by a scorching heatwave.
On the mainland, villages have been evacuated in the Galician province of Ourense as more forest fires rage out of control.
[youtube 12FJ45mWp5s]
