Firefighters in Spain, Portugal, and Greece continued to battle wildfires Friday on a public holiday in all three countries as persistent hot, dry conditions challenged efforts to contain the blazes.
Spain was fighting 14 major fires. Temperatures were expected to climb over the weekend.
“Today will once again be a very tough day, with an extreme risk of new fires,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote on X.
Local residents react in front of the fire during a wildfire in Santa Baia De Montes, northwestern Spain, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. APThe national weather agency AEMET warned of extreme fire risk in most of the country, including where the largest blazes were burning in the north and west.
A heatwave, which brought temperatures exceeding 104 Fahrenheit on several days this month, was expected to last through Monday.
Fires in the Galicia region forced the closure of several highways. The high-speed rail line connecting it to Spain’s capital, Madrid, remained suspended.
The fires in Spain this year have burned 610 square miles, according to the European Union’s European Forest Fire Information System.
Spain was fighting 14 major fires, as temperatures were expected to climb over the weekend. AP
Firefighters in Spain, Portugal, and Greece continued to battle wildfires Friday on a public holiday in all three countries as persistent hot, dry conditions challenged efforts to contain the blazes. MARIAM A MONTESINOS/EPA/ShutterstockThat is an area roughly as big as metropolitan London.
In both Spain and Portugal, it was the Feast of the Assumption, a major Catholic holiday usually marked by family gatherings and religious processions.
In Portugal, nearly 4,000 firefighters were battling seven major fires.
A wildfire rages near a house in Granja do Paiva, Sernancelhe municipality, Viseu district, Portugal. PEDRO SARMENTO COSTA/EPA/Shutterstock
In Portugal, nearly 4,000 firefighters were battling seven major fires. PEDRO SARMENTO COSTA/EPA/ShutterstockAuthorities extended the state of alert until Sunday, amid high temperatures expected to last through the weekend.
A wildfire in Greece burned out of control for a fourth day on the island of Chios, prompting several more overnight evacuations.
Two water-dropping planes and two helicopters were operating in the north of the island in the eastern Aegean Sea, where local authorities said a lull in high winds was helping firefighters early Friday.
Volunteer Lifeguards, with a lifeboat, removed families and pets from the Vrachnaeika area in Greece, where the firestorm reached the sea. Hellenic red cross
Overnight evacuations, like the one above, were needed as the wildfire started to burn the island of Chios. Hellenic red cross
Two water-dropping planes and two helicopters were operating in the north of the island in the eastern Aegean Sea. Gent Shkullaku/ZUMA Press Wire / SplashNews.com
Firefighters work to extinguish a wildfire near the city of Patras, western Greece on August 13. AFP via Getty ImagesFollowing a series of large fires in western Greece earlier this week, the Fire Service was on alert Friday outside Athens and nearby areas in the south of the country, where adverse weather conditions elevated the fire risk.
The spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, expressed solidarity on Friday with the victims of wildfires in southern Europe during prayers for the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, an important religious holiday for Orthodox Christians.
