OMIS: A wildfire engulfed homes in a picturesque Croatian resort on Friday, killing one person, injuring 40 and forcing 1,200 to evacuate, as the EU warned that pockets of “very extreme” wildfire conditions stretched across the continent.

Hundreds more were evacuated from a beach resort in northern Greece and from a village in southwest France, while a major grass fire engulfed houses in England.

Record-breaking heat and drought that scientists link to climate change have created ideal conditions for wildfires across Europe this summer, especially in France, Spain and Greece. The Balkans region has also endured several heatwaves.

Flames turn sky red

Residents and tourists described scenes of chaos as they fled in their cars from a fire outside Omis, a scenic town on Croatia’s prized Dalmatian coast surrounded by trees and rocky hills.

“The flames were licking both sides of the road. When I got a little further around the bend and looked, I saw flames shooting up from under my hood. The car was on fire!” said local resident Ljubica Uglesic.

Authorities found one charred body while, of 40 people treated in the nearby hospital in Split, seven were in a serious condition, the hospital said.

Dinghies help in rescue

In northern Greece, people wearing face masks, some clutching children or pets, boarded dinghies and boats in the seaside town of Siviri as the fire devoured a forest and columns of smoke turned the cloudless sky a dark grey.

The coastguard said that more than 300 people had been evacuated by boat from the town, which sits on a peninsula of woodland, olive groves and beaches south of Greece’s second city, Thessaloniki.

More than 140 firefighters, nine aircraft and seven helicopters were deployed to battle flames, while fishing vessels took part in the evacuation.

Wildfires in Britain and Wales have hit a record level for a second consecutive year, fuelled by five heatwaves this summer, Phil Garrigan, chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council, said.

“We’re anticipating this being not just a record-breaking year, but a considerable increase on the number of wildfires previously experienced,” Garrigan said.

Simon Markey was playing golf in Stourbridge, in central England, when he saw a fire start in a field nearby and spread quickly across the golf course despite efforts by firefighters to contain it.

It reached an area of houses, said local resident Paul Nash, whose neighbour’s house burned down.

“I heard a scream, and all the trees along the railway track were exploding. They weren’t just setting fire, they were exploding. So we just grabbed everything and left,” Nash said.

In France, authorities evacuated 525 people from the village of Luglon after a wildfire broke out in the southwestern Landes region, not far from an area already devastated by major blazes this summer.

An even larger fire in Huelva, in southern Spain, burned 31,000 hectares and forced the evacuation of 700 people.

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2026