Fires are raging in several European countries

Two fires are raging on the island of Salamis west of the Greek capital Athens. Hundreds of residents and sunbathers have been evacuated since the fires broke out, according to the fire department, at roughly the same time.

High temperatures and strong winds caused the fire to spread quickly.

- Within seven minutes it had reached built-up areas, says fire general Vasileios Vathrakogiannis to the AP news agency.

Two people have been found dead in the village of Peristeria on Salamis, according to Greek emergency services.

Throughout Greece, 34 fires have broken out over the weekend.

Fire in Belgium out of control

The big fire that broke out last Friday in a natural area in eastern Belgium has now destroyed around 3,000 hectares. It is moving slowly towards the border with Germany, and is not under control.

The fire broke out after a heat wave with temperatures of around 37 degrees in parts of the country.

The fire is being fought from the air with helicopters and fire planes – including two from Sweden – and from the ground, where farmers help supply the firefighters with water from a lake.

Three villages have been partially evacuated, including a village on the border with Germany.

Evacuation is being prepared in Germany

On the other side of the border, residents of the town of Monschau have been warned that they may be forced to evacuate. The fire is no less than 1.5 kilometers from the border.

The authorities have drawn a "red line", and if the fire reaches there, several of the 12,000 inhabitants will be forced to leave their homes, reports the newspaper Rhenische Post.

The larger fire that raged earlier in the weekend in Hürtgenwald, north of Monschau, is according to the authorities under control, but the extinguishing work is still ongoing with, among other things, two helicopters. Around 2,000 residents who were forced to evacuate have been able to return home.

Soldier killed in Spain

In Spain, a soldier has died during the extinguishing work of a major fire in Huesca in Aragon. The soldier died when the vehicle he was traveling in overturned. Several of his colleagues were injured, reports El Pais.

In the UK, emergency services with help from the military are fighting around 14 wildfires in Wales. The heat wave last week reached temperatures of around 38 degrees. Although the temperatures now appear to be dropping, the authorities warn that the fire risk remains high.