Merciless: Fires in southern Europe and Turkey continue

The scenes in Greece and Turkey are dramatic.

All night long, flames, sparks and smoke hit the sky, burning acres after acres of forest.

People are stunned and hopeless.

Athens / Istanbul - The forest fires in Greece and Turkey continue unabated.

Even at night, fire rollers made their way through dried up forests, bushes and grasslands.

The Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis swore the citizens for more tough days - among other things, it burns near the capital Athens. In Milas, western Turkey, the flames have recently moved dangerously close to residential areas again, according to local authorities. The first quarters were evacuated in the late evening.

“We have to fight dozens of forest fires.

Three of them - in Athens, on the Peloponnese and on Euboea - are enormous, ”said Mitsotakis evening during a speech on state television.

For today he warned of strong westerly winds, an "unprecedented condition because the past days of heat and drought have turned the country into a powder keg".

In the evening there were 54 active fires across the country.

Therefore, people are not allowed to visit forests until at least Monday.

Work that could generate sparks or flames is also prohibited.

Turkey: fires out of control

In Turkey, too, the forces continue to fight the flames.

According to official information, 13 fires in six provinces were not yet under control in the evening.

The holiday regions of Antalya, Marmaris and Bodrum are particularly affected, where the emergency services have not been able to get the fires under control for days.

The residents are desperate and hope for rain - but the next few days will also be extremely hot.

In Bodrum and Milas in the Mugla province, more than 40 degrees are expected for today.

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The devastating fires in Turkey left charred tracts of land.

© Uncredited / AP / dpa

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu, who has his constituency in Antalya, made some hope in the evening: The wind will decrease in Antalya today and it is hoped that the fires there will be brought under control.

Thousands of people have already had to leave their homes and some have been placed in schools and sports stadiums.

The authorities keep distributing lists of things that are needed: cutlery, plates, pillows and blankets - the need is great.

The fire has already devastated large areas.

Eight people were killed, and it is estimated that at least 100,000 hectares of forest and fields fell victim to the flames.

These are the worst forest fires in Turkey for more than 13 years.

dpa