Aircraft continued to drop water on a major wildfire west of the Greek capital, Athens, on Aug. 3, 24 hours after two firefighting helicopters collided, killing two people.
A Greek police liaison officer and a Danish helicopter pilot died in the accident, and two others—one of them a British national—were hospitalized.
Footage of the accident obtained by British broadcaster Channel 5 News appeared to show one helicopter lowering its altitude and then clipping the rotor blades of the second chopper, sending it crashing to the ground.
Powerful winds over the weekend hindered firefighters’ efforts to combat the flames spreading across a mountainous, heavily forested region near Psatha, on the Gulf of Corinth.
On Aug. 3, the deployment of 11 helicopters and 12 planes equipped with water-dropping equipment was allowed.
More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from the area, including more than 250 rescued from beaches by boat crews.
The resort of Porto Germeno, north of Psatha, has been among the hardest hit areas.
The blaze was halted by the efforts of 500 firefighters, but the Greek authorities warned that areas around Athens remained at great risk.
‘Difficult Fire’
“To put it in a headline: conditions are better, but we are pressing forward because there are still multiple points of activity,” Fire Service spokesman Yiannis Artopios said. “This is a difficult fire that has troubled us.”
The origin of the Psatha fire is believed to be a faulty power line from a private wind farm, and two contractors have been arrested on suspicion of arson by negligence.
If proved to be correct, that would echo the Camp Fire in November 2018—the deadliest fire in the history of California—which decimated the town of Paradise and caused 85 deaths.
That fire was caused by Pacific Gas & Electric’s power lines, and in December 2019, PG&E agreed to a $13.5 billion settlement for its role in the Camp Fire and several other Northern California fires.
A firefighting helicopter drops water over a smoke-filled forest during a wildfire near Porto Germeno, northwest of Athens, Greece, on Aug. 2, 2026. Michael Varaklas/AP Photo
Greece and several other countries in southern Europe have suffered persistent wildfires in recent summers, despite improved detection methods and better cooperation between European Union members.
On July 22, the pine forests west of Bordeaux caught fire, and caused a rare weather system called a pyrocumulonimbus, which generated thunderstorm clouds that hurled lightning to the ground and ignited fresh fires beyond the fire lines.
The fire forced the evacuation of homes and vacation accommodation on the Cap Ferret peninsula and burnt 42,000 hectares (104,000 acres)—an area four times the size of Paris.
In total, more than 220,000 people fled their homes in the Gironde region.
French Evacuees Return
Thousands of evacuees were allowed to return to their homes and vacation accommodation on Aug. 3, but French firefighters were still guarding against the potential for the embers to reignite.
French officials said the worst-affected community was Le Porge, around 10 miles west of Bordeaux, which had seen 183 homes destroyed.
Another wildfire in Provence, southeastern France, was still not contained on Aug. 3, and stronger winds were forecast.
Water-dropping helicopters reinforced 1,500 firefighters tackling the fire, which spread across 7 square miles.
Much of Europe has suffered a heat wave this summer, and the Italian health ministry said that 25 out of the country’s 27 cities were on maximum Level 3 red alert, with temperatures set to reach 104 Fahrenheit on Aug. 3.
A heat wave has also hit much of the western United States, with Las Vegas reporting temperatures of 115 degrees Fahrenheit on Aug. 1. It follows a heat wave last month that affected northern and western parts of the country.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
