Where in Europe are there still wildfires?

Updated
People watch a wildfire in Aljezur, Portugal, August 7, 2023. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes
People watch a wildfire in Aljezur, Portugal, on Monday. (Reuters) (Pedro Nunes / reuters)

More than 1,400 people have been evacuated after wildfires swept through an area of Portugal.

About 800 emergency personnel battled a fire near the town of Odemira in the south of the country on Monday.

At least nine firefighters have been injured while battling the blazes, and six planes have been dropping water on the flames.

Firefighters battle a wildfire in Carrascal, Proenca a Nova on August 6, 2023.
Firefighters battle a wildfire in Carrascal, Portugal. (Getty Images) (PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP)
View of a wildfire in Aljezur, Portugal, August 7, 2023. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes
A wildfire rages in Aljezur, Portugal, on Monday. (Reuters) (Pedro Nunes / reuters)

Temperatures in the region are expected to reach past 40C later this week.

The area is north of the Algarve region which is hugely popular with British tourists.

A temperature of 46.4C was recorded in Santarem in Portugal on Monday, the hottest of the year so far.

Watch: 1,400 people evacuated after wildfires spread in Portugal

The fire near Odemira has destroyed about 6,700 hectares of land and led to the evacuation of 19 villages, a campsite and four tourist accommodations.

Helder Guerreiro, the mayor of Odemira, said the situation was "critical, difficult and complex".

Read more: Hundreds evacuated in Italy's Sardinia as fires rage in Portugal and Cyprus

Portugal is just the latest European country forced to deal with wildfires this summer.

Last month, thousands of people, including many Britons, were evacuated from the Greek island of Rhodes after severe fires.

A number of countries have been fighting wildfires in the last few days.

Italy

About 600 people have been evacuated on the island of Sardinia after more than 50 wildfires raged there on Monday.

Residents in Posada were forced to leave their homes and tourists at campsites and resorts have also been moved.

Six teams of firefighters, including 30 personnel and 12 vehicles, have been deployed to the region.

Posada town councillor Giorgio Fresu said: "Despite the huge deployment of fire officers, the situation is truly dramatic.

"The wind is blowing so strongly that it's not a fair fight."

POSADA, ITALY - AUGUST 06: A Canadair aircraft attempts to extinguish a wildfire in Posada in the province of Nuoro on August 06, 2023 in Posada, Italy. A number of homes and resorts in the area have been evacuated as strong mistral winds help fuel the flames, being tackled by firefighting and civil protection teams along with helicopters and Canadair aircraft. (Photo by Emanuele Perrone/Getty Images)
A Canadair aircraft attempts to extinguish a wildfire in Posada, Sardinia, Italy. (Getty Images) (Emanuele Perrone via Getty Images)
POSADA, ITALY - AUGUST 07: A wildfire burns in Posada in the province of Nuoro on August 07, 2023 in Posada, Italy. A number of homes and resorts in the area have been evacuated as strong mistral winds help fuel the flames, being tackled by firefighting and civil protection teams along with helicopters and Canadair aircraft. (Photo by Emanuele Perrone/Getty Images)
A wildfire burns in Posada, Sardinia, Italy, on Monday. (Getty Images) (Emanuele Perrone via Getty Images)
POSADA, ITALY - AUGUST 07: A wildfire burns in Posada in the province of Nuoro on August 07, 2023 in Posada, Italy. A number of homes and resorts in the area have been evacuated as strong mistral winds help fuel the flames, being tackled by firefighting and civil protection teams along with helicopters and Canadair aircraft. (Photo by Emanuele Perrone/Getty Images)
A firefighter tackles a wildfire in Posada, Sardinia, Italy, on Monday. (Getty Images) (Emanuele Perrone via Getty Images)
POSADA, ITALY - AUGUST 07: A Canadair aircraft attempts to extinguish a wildfire in Posada in the province of Nuoro on August 07, 2023 in Posada, Italy. A number of homes and resorts in the area have been evacuated as strong mistral winds help fuel the flames, being tackled by firefighting and civil protection teams along with helicopters and Canadair aircraft. (Photo by Emanuele Perrone/Getty Images)
An aircraft attempts to extinguish a wildfire in Posada, Italy. (Getty Images) (Emanuele Perrone via Getty Images)

Cyprus

In Cyprus, firefighters have been tackled a blaze near the village of Apesia, near the city of Limassol.

Firefighting teams from Lebanon, Greece and Jordan have sent in aircraft to combat the wildfires, officials said on Monday.

The blaze has destroyed more than three square miles of land.

Environment minister Petros Xenophontos said: "Fires are here, climate change exists and unfortunately it won’t go away."

An aircraft drops water over a fire in Apesia, a semi-mountainous village near Limassol, southwestern Cyprus, Monday, Aug. 7, 2023. Greece on Monday dispatched two Canadair fire-fighting aircraft after a call for assistance from fellow European Union member Cyprus to help fight a blaze that has scorched miles of mountainous terrain. (AP Photo/Philippos Christou)
An aircraft drops water over a fire in Apesia, near Limassol, Cyprus, on Monday. (AP Photo) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Two helicopters operate over a fire in Apesia, a semi-mountainous village near Limassol, southwestern Cyprus, Monday, Aug. 7, 2023. Greece on Monday dispatched two Canadair fire-fighting aircraft after a call for assistance from fellow European Union member Cyprus to help fight a blaze that has scorched miles of mountainous terrain. (AP Photo/Philippos Christou)
Two helicopters operate over a fire in Apesia, a village near Limassol, south western Cyprus. (AP Photo) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Spain

In Spain, wildfires near the cities of Cadiz and Huelva on the south west coast destroyed more than 1,000 hectares of land on Saturday and Sunday.

TOPSHOT - Picture shows a burnt forest after wildfire in Puerto Real, near Cadiz, on August 6, 2023. After announcing early today the stabilization of a fire that broke out yesterday in the province of Huelva, the regional service for forest fires Infoca warned about the start of a second major fire, further south on the Atlantic Coast, in Puerto Real in the province of Cadiz. (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO / AFP) (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO/AFP via Getty Images)
A burnt forest after wildfire in Puerto Real, near Cadiz, Spain, on Sunday. (AFP via Getty Images) (JORGE GUERRERO via Getty Images)

Can British travellers get compensation?

Because the UK Foreign Office did not advise against travel to the Greek islands, and because many airlines continued their services to those destinations, British travellers are unlikely to receive compensation for their trips.

Travel insurance is unlikely to cover the costs if flights and accommodation have not been cancelled and if people decided not to travel.

If flights were cancelled, airlines must offer passengers a full refund or an alternative flight.

Last week, Greece's prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis offered a free week-long holiday in Rhodes to tourists whose trips were cut short by wildfires.

Watch: Firefighters in Sicily battle wildfires as temperatures reach 44C

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