A blaze has reportedly killed 26 horses in their stables, alongside a 55-year-old man who died trying to save them, as wildfires continue to devastate southern Europe.
The man suffered burns to 98 per cent of his body in the fire in Soto de Viñuelas, north of Madrid, and died in hospital after being flown there by helicopter, the Guardian reported.
A Spanish volunteer firefighter also died from severe burns, and several others were hospitalised, as the state weather agency AEMET warned that almost the entire country faced an extreme or very high risk of fire.
The 35-year-old deceased was attempting to create firebreaks near Nogarejas, in the central Castile and Leon region, when he became trapped in the inferno, according to regional officials.
He was the sixth person to die this year in wildfires in Spain. Others include two firefighters in Tarragona and Avila, according to emergency services.
The blazes have consumed homes, farms, and factories, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists across southern Europe.
They are fuelled by a relentless heatwave, strong winds, and a combination of suspected arson and thunderstorms.
In Greece, a cement factory on the outskirts of Patras, west of Athens, was engulfed in flames and dark smoke, as a wildfire swept through olive groves and forests, disrupting local rail traffic.
A volunteer, Giorgos Karvanis, who travelled from Athens to assist, said: "What does it look like? It looks like doomsday. May God help us and help the people here."
Authorities had already ordered the evacuation of a town of about 7,700 people near Patras on Tuesday, issuing further alerts on Wednesday for residents of two nearby villages to leave.
On the popular tourist islands of Chios in the east and Cephalonia in the west, officials also instructed people to move to safety as fires continued to spread.
Suspected arson
Spanish Environment Minister Sara Aagesen told the SER radio station that many fires across the country were thought to be the work of arsonists due to their ”virulence“.
A male firefighter was arrested on Tuesday for fires started in the Avila area north of Madrid two weeks ago, while police said on Tuesday they were investigating a 63-year-old woman for allegedly starting fires in Galicia's Muxia area in August.
Police have also identified a suspect who is believed to have suffered burns to his hands after starting a small fire in a beachfront development in the southern coastal Cadiz area, Europa Press reported.
Thunderstorms have caused other fires.
On Tuesday, shortly after 5 pm, Andalusia's fire department was flooded with calls by residents reporting a fire caused by a lightning strike on a chestnut and oak forest in Los Romeros, north of the city of Huelva.
The fire prompted the evacuation of around 250 residents but was largely controlled by Wednesday morning.
A blaze in Trancoso in Portugal that has been burning since Saturday got worse during the night as a lightning reignited an area that was thought safe, the civil protection service said.
In Albania, Defence Minister Pirro Vengu said it was a ”critical week“, with several major wildfires burning across the country.
Some 10,000 firefighters, soldiers and police emergency units struggled with a total of 24 wildfires on Wednesday, the defence ministry said.
Flames reached two villages in the centre of the country, forcing villagers to flee, taking their livestock with them.
”We are going in the middle of two rivers because the fire has arrived,“ said Hajri Dragoti, 68, from Narte, who fled with his wife taking a cow, a donkey and a dog.
”We can't do anything, it is like gunpowder.“
Spain was in its 10th day of a heatwave that peaked on Tuesday with temperatures as high as 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit), and which AEMET expected to last until Monday, making it one of the longest on record.
Pope Leo moved his weekly audience from St. Peter's Square to an indoor venue in the Vatican, ”to stay a little bit out of the sun and the extreme heat“ as Italy's health ministry issued extreme heat warnings for 16 cities on Wednesday, with temperatures forecast to peak at 39C (102F) in Florence.
