Albanian firefighters battle blazes as southern and eastern Europe feels the heat

TIRANA, Aug 5 - Albanian firefighters battled on Wednesday a wildfire in the southern region of Mallakaster which forced evacuations of about 15 families with their livestock and pets as a heatwave kept large parts of southern and eastern Europe in its grip.

A Spanish industrial fire prompted toxic alerts, while France shut nuclear reactors to protect river levels. In Greece, severe wildfires have claimed five lives, marking one of its worst environmental crises in a decade as extreme heat continues across the region.

Strong winds returned to southern Greece late Monday, pushing flames into mountain home clusters, destroying farms and property, and closing a highway

Over 224,000 French residents were forced to flee due to the wildfires so far.

French wildfires show signs of easing, with containment efforts holding in Var and Gironde after destructive blazes.

Europe’s wildfire emergency eased across much of western Europe on Saturday, with major fires in France and Spain no longer advancing and Portugal’s main blaze under control.However, the crisis worsened in Greece, where gale-force winds drove flames through a seaside resort and triggered fresh evacuations.In south-west

Firefighters held a vast wildfire inside its perimeter in southwestern France on Saturday, allowing about 198,000 people to return home after what may have been the country’s largest peacetime evacuation, even as renewed fires forced thousands from their homes elsewhere in France and Greece.