Greece Fights Huge Wildfires as Hungary Shuts Down Nuclear Plant Due to Drought

Greek firefighters spent Sunday fighting a massive wildfire that had already destroyed more than 100 homes northwest of Athens, Greece's capital city. At the same time, a new fire broke out on the popular tourist island of Kefalonia, forcing many people to leave their homes. The fires are part of a much bigger problem: Europe has been hit hard this summer by record heat waves and almost no rain, a dangerous combination that scientists link to climate change.

The main fire burning near the town of Porto Germeno, about 40 miles northwest of Athens, was made worse by very strong winds. Those winds finally died down, but the fire crossed over a mountain and reached a place called Veniza, as well as a military firing range where it set off unexploded weapons. Firefighters were working hard to stop the blaze from spreading to the nearby coastal town of Megara. So far, more than 10,000 hectares of land — an area roughly the size of 25,000 football fields — had likely burned.

Nearly 500 Greek firefighters were sent to battle the blaze, using vehicles, heavy machines, and firefighting aircraft. France and Romania also sent help to support the Greek crews. In the village of Agios Konstantinos, local residents joined the effort on their own. "The fire has been burning since last night, it is certain that they cannot have forces everywhere. We as residents are doing everything we can," said Tasos Tzempelikos, a 61-year-old man who was pouring water on the flames alongside his son.

Overnight, fires also broke out on the island of Kefalonia in the Ionian Sea. Several communities in the south of the island were evacuated after flames started in an area called Pastra. Kefalonia is a well-known vacation spot, so the timing was especially disruptive for tourists and locals alike. Firefighters worked through the night to keep the blaze from spreading further.

In other parts of Europe, some wildfire news was more hopeful. In France, fires in the Gironde and Var regions showed signs of slowing down, with only small flare-ups reported. In central Spain, large wildfires that had burned tens of thousands of hectares over the past week were mostly under control, though some fires were reigniting. In the western Spanish province of Caceres, a new fire forced about 800 people to evacuate on Saturday, though they were allowed to return home on Sunday.

The drought is also hurting Europe in other ways, especially along major rivers. The Rhine and the Danube have dropped to very low levels, with the Danube hitting record lows in Hungary, Serbia, and Romania. In Hungary, the situation became so serious that the country's only nuclear power plant had to shut down for the first time in more than 40 years. The plant relies on river water to cool its reactors, and the Danube simply didn't have enough water left to do the job.

Hungary's Prime Minister warned that the country was facing a critical five days, with another heat wave approaching. More than 100 cities and villages in Hungary have been told to limit how much water they use. Low river levels have also made it hard to move cargo ships and hurt the tourism industry. In Serbia, the Danube fell to its lowest point since 1985, cutting the output of the country's largest hydropower plant to just 20 percent of normal — a sign of how serious the energy situation across Europe has become.