Wildfires in Southern Europe

26 July 2009 by Jim Bennett

Fires that swept through parts of Spain, France, Italy and Greece, killing at least eight people, began to abate this weekend.

In Italy, eight fires were still not under control, but four others were on the point of being extinguished and another had been put out, an official said.

A forest fire on the Greek island of Crete was dying down while another near the central town of Livadia was partly under control.

Officials in Spain said that the majority of fires there had stabilised.

The fires broke out earlier this week. Six firefighters were among the dead.

A European Union monitoring agency has warned that the risk of fire along the Mediterranean coastline remains high with soaring temperatures predicted for the coming days.

Spain’s interior ministry has put the country on maximum wildfire alert and is urging citizens to avoid starting fires in the current intense heat.