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Firefighters across Europe continue to battle forest fires amid blistering heatwaves, as blazes broke out in Germany, Greece and Turkey on Saturday.
Hundreds of German firefighters have been battling blazes for days in the forested regions of Thuringia and Saxony, including the Gohrischheide nature reserve near the Brandenburg border.
Around 650 emergency personnel were deployed by midday on Saturday, officials said. Fire alerts were issued via mobile apps by authorities.
While officials in Saxony described the situation there as largely stable, authorities in Brandenburg said they were prepared for the fire to potentially reignite.
Firefighters in Greece made progress in containing a wildfire that broke out on Friday afternoon in eastern Attica, the Greek fire service said on Saturday.
Authorise had earlier ordered evacuations of nearby residents after reports of homes being damaged. People living in Agios Dimitrios, Galazia Akti and Althea received emergency alerts on their phones instructing them to evacuate to the coast.
The fire service deployed around 120 firefighters, supported by eight helicopters and eight aircraft, to fight the fire.
Strong winds and dry conditions have raised the risk of wildfires across the country, prompting heightened vigilance by emergency services.
In Turkey, firefighters have reportedly brought several large wildfires under control in the western Izmir province.
Fanned by strong winds, fires left homes uninhabitable and forced the evacuation of several neighbourhoods after flames reached residential areas.
Ground crews, supported by planes and helicopters, worked around the clock for three days to contain the fires, according to the Turkish forestry directorate.
Turkey also reportedly sent two aircraft and 11 fire engines along with support vehicles to Syria on Saturday to help in the firefighting efforts there.
Large wildfires there continue to wreak havoc as they devour coastal forests fanned by strong winds and drought. Efforts to halt the series of wildfires have been complicated by the presence of unexploded munitions left over from more than a decade of civil war.
