Wildfires in Europe: Dry summer turns deadly and destructive
Hundreds of firefighters are battling monster blazes in Greece and France. Extreme heat and drought conditions brought on by climate change are leaving much of Europe vulnerable to wildfires.
Help from above
EU air support is backing up Greek firefighters on the ground as the massive blaze on the island of Evia enters its third day.
A forest burns
Hundreds of people were evacuated from villages on the Greek island of Evia when the fire began on Tuesday.
A smoke-choked capital
Just hours after the fire broke out on Tuesday, smoke was already traveling west, shrouding the Akropolis in Greece's capital, Athens, over 80 kilometers (50 miles) away.
More woes for Athens
The suburbs of Athens were hit earlier in the week by a wildfire, with authorities ordering evacuations as homes burned.
A week in flames
Over the weekend, the island Elafonisos, just south of the Peloponnese peninsula, was also on fire, forcing the evacuation of vacationers.
Islands ablaze
Earlier in the week, a fire raged on Gran Canaria, burning up over 1,500 hectares and sending hundreds of people fleeing.
A fire the size of Belgium in Russia
Fires in eastern Russia burned up over 1 million acres of woodland earlier in August. Though forest fires are common in Siberia, there is no precedent for the scale of this summer's.
Germans hit hard
Not even Germany was spared from this summer's wildfires. A former military training grounds caught ablaze in July, requiring the labor of scores of firefighters.