Plane passenger's video captures vast spread of Scottish wildfires
Aerial footage taken by a plane passenger captured the intense fires, which the Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) warns are becoming a danger to human life.
The SGA is working "round-the-clock" to combat the fires, noting that firefighters are "stretched" and unable to respond to other incidents.
Scottish first minister John Swinney has described the situation as "extremely serious" and urged people to follow all available advice.
Watch the video in full above.
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
More than 1,500 people evacuated in Crete amid wildfire as Europe heatwave continues
A wildfire fanned by gale-force winds has forced the evacuation of more than 1,500 people on the Greek island of Crete, officials have said, as large swathes of continental Europe baked in a punishing early summer heatwave linked to at least nine deaths. About 230 firefighters, along with 46 vehicles and helicopters, were battling the blaze on Thursday after it broke out 24 hours earlier near Ierapetra on the south-east coast of the country's largest island, threatening to engulf houses and hotels. A fire brigade spokesperson, Vassilis Vathrakogiannis, said: 'There are wind gusts in the area, some measuring 9 on the Beaufort scale, triggering rekindling and hindering firefighting efforts.' He added that four settlements had been evacuated. Residents and tourists were taking shelter at an indoor stadium and some had left Crete by boat, authorities said. Local media reported some homes had been damaged. An estimated 5,000 more holidaymakers left south-east Crete independently. Like the rest of Crete, Ierapetra – a seaside resort with a permanent population of 23,000 - takes in thousands of tourists in the summer. The island's arid, uneven landscape, criss-crossed by gullies, makes it hard for firefighters to tackle blazes. A separate fire was raging in the Halkidiki region of Greece, with 160 firefighters and 49 vehicles involved in the emergency response, while in Turkey, thousands of people fled blazes in Cesme and Odemis in the western coastal province of Izmir. An elderly man died in the blaze near Odimis, about 62 miles (100km) east of Izmir, in one of three villages evacuated in the area. 'The village was evacuated but an elderly, bedridden patient could not be saved,' a local MP told Turkish TV. Vathrakogiannis said the risk of destructive wildfires remained 'very considerable' in July, the hottest month of the year in Greece, although the country had largely escaped the heatwave still gripping other parts of southern and central Europe. Nearly 500 firefighters were battling wildfires in eastern Germany that severely injured two emergency workers and forced the evacuation of more than 100 people near Gohrischheide, on the border between the states of Saxony and Brandenburg. The blazes have burned through hundreds of hectares of heathland and were still not under control on Thursday, with firefighters unable to reach parts of them because they were on a former military training area with unexploded ammunition. The worst appeared to be over in France, with the south-east the last area set record temperatures of up to 36C, but parts of Spain, Italy, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and Croatia were all forecast to hit the mid-30s on Thursday. Italian authorities issued red alerts on Thursday for 18 cities including Rome, Milan, Turin, Bologna, Genoa and Palermo, meaning that the heat is so intense that it poses a risk not just to the sick and elderly but the young and fit too. Rome also said temporary power blackouts were possible as power consumption surges from air conditioners. At least five people have died in the heatwave in Italy, including two, aged 75 and 60, on beaches in Sardinia. Temperatures on the island, where wildfires have been raging, have exceeded 40C in recent days. In Genoa, an 85-year-old man died of heart failure in hospital. A 47-year-old construction worker died near Bologna and a 53-year-old died woman in Palermo. A measure halting outdoor work, for example on construction sites and farms, during the hottest part of the day has taken effect nationwide, although it is not an obligation and many people are continuing to work their normal hours. In Spain, the media reported that the two victims of a wildfire that consumed more than 5,500 hectares (13,590 acres) of mostly agricultural land in Torrefeta i Florejacs in Lleida province were aged 32 and 45, and had died of smoke inhalation. Temperatures in central Albania reached 40C on Thursday, and with little rain expected until September fears are rising for local agricultural output. Serbia's state meteorological institute also warned 'extreme drought' was already affecting crops. Scientists have said Europe's heatwaves have arrived earlier than usual this year, with temperatures surging by up to 10C in some regions as warming seas encourage the formation of a 'heat dome' over much of the land mass, trapping hot air.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Elderly man dies as wildfires rage in Turkey, forcing evacuations and road closures
Firefighters on Thursday discovered the body of an elderly man after extinguishing a wildfire near a village in western Turkey, while crews elsewhere continued to battle another blaze that closed a highway and forced some residents to be evacuated from their homes. The 81-year-old-man died from smoke inhalation in a village near the town of Odemis, Suleyman Elban, the governor for Izmir province, said. His death marks the first fatality in a series of wildfires across the country that have forced thousands to flee. A total of 37 other villagers were safely evacuated by security forces and emergency teams, Elban said. Meanwhile, hundreds of firefighters, supported by aircraft and helicopters, were deployed to extinguish a wildfire blazing in the Aegean coastal town of Cesme, a tourism hotspot some 192 kilometers (120 miles) west of Odemis. That wildfire, which began on Wednesday, forced the evacuation of three neighborhoods and closed roads. Television footage of the blaze showed flames burning through dried vegetation on both sides of a road. Elban said the wildfires in Izmir province are believed to have been sparked by electrical lines, which ignited dry grass and spread rapidly due to wind. In the past week, Turkey has battled hundreds of fires across the country that were fueled by fierce winds, scorching heat and low humidity. The fires — most of which were brought under control — damaged or destroyed around 200 homes, the majority in İzmir, the Interior Ministry said. Dozens of barns were also destroyed. As firefighting crews battled the blazes, Turkey's parliament adopted the country's first climate law late Wednesday, in a move aimed at reaching net-zero emissions by 2053. The legislation includes measures to establish a carbon market board to oversee efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emission. It also imposes fines on companies that fail to comply with the requirements. The U.K.-based environmental advocacy group ClientEarth on Thursday welcomed the law's symbolic importance but said it has several shortcomings. 'The law lacks ambitious, science-based targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the medium-term and offers no commitment to phasing out fossil fuels,' the group said.
Sky News
4 hours ago
- Sky News
Greece: Wildfire tears through southern Crete - forcing more than 1,500 to flee homes and hotels
A fierce wildfire driven by gale-force winds has torn through southern Crete, forcing the evacuation of more than 1,500 people from homes and hotels. The blaze, which ignited near the village of Achlia, in the Ierapetra area of the Greek island's southern coast, swept across forests and farmland overnight into Thursday. Crews battled the flames with 230 firefighters and 10 aircraft dropping water from above. Some residents were evacuated by boat, and the coast guard kept six vessels on standby for further sea rescues. Several homes were damaged as flames surged through hillside forests, fuelled by strong winds. "It's a very difficult situation," said Nektarios Papadakis, a civil protection official. "The fire is hard to contain. Right now, they cannot stop it." Evacuated tourists were taken to a nearby basketball arena and hotels in safer parts of the island, while mobile phone alerts were issued, urging residents to leave immediately and not return to defend their homes. As the fire approached residential areas, clouds of ash filled the sky and emergency vehicles lined roads near the resorts of Ferma and Achlia. Several people were treated for breathing problems, but no serious injuries have been reported. Wildfires are common during Greece's hot, dry summers - and the fire risk remains high across Crete and southern Greece, according to the fire service. The disaster recalls the deadly 2018 wildfire in Mati, near Athens, where more than 100 people were killed - many trapped in homes or forced into the sea to escape the flames.
