Skies turn red as wildfires burn across Europe - with thousands of people evacuated

Thousands of people have been evacuated in the wake of wildfires burning across much of Europe.

Firefighters in France, Germany, Croatia and Greece are among those battling blazes that threaten to destroy homes and businesses.

It comes as wildfires also rage in the UK, with the country experiencing the summer's fifth heatwave and high temperatures on Friday after the hottest day of the year on Thursday.

Follow latest: Residents told to stay away after major UK fire

Croatia

In Croatia, a wildfire driven by strong winds engulfed houses as it descended on a tourist town overnight.

Around 1,000 people had to be evacuated and dozens were injured, fire and health officials said on Friday.

The night sky above the tourist town of Omis, normally an idyllic location surrounded by trees and hills, was turned red by the blaze.

"It ​was a strong fire, it swept everything on its ⁠way... there has been huge material damage," chief ⁠fire commander lavko Tucakovic said.

Greece

It's a similar situation in Greece, where tourists and residents had to flee villages in the north of the country as a wildfire engulfed houses and trees near a resort.

People wearing face ​masks, some clutching children or pets, boarded dingies and boats ⁠in the seaside town of Siviri as ⁠the fire burned through a forest and large columns of smoke turned the cloudless sky dark ‌grey.

Germany

In Germany, more than 2,000 people were evacuated on Friday after a wildfire near the Belgian border spread towards the village of Gey.

Residents were asked to leave their homes at around 4am, and were urged to carry only essential belongings with them.

"This forest ​fire threatens to hit the local community ⁠hard," state deputy premier Mona Neubaur said.

While the evacuation is complete, the mayor of Gey, Stephan Cranen, says the situation remains critical and the flames were just 300 metres from the village.

A further complication is the presence of unexploded Second World War ammunition in parts of the surrounding forests, with occasional detonations reportedly being heard during the wildfire.

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France

Meanwhile, 525 people had to be evacuated from the French village of Luglon after a wildfire broke out in the southwestern ‌Landes region, not far from an area already devastated by major fires this summer.

The latest fire began on Thursday and has already ravaged 1,100 hectares of land in an area usually swathed in pine forests.

"The situation ​is unfavourable and the fire remains raging," regional official Gilles Clavreul said on Friday, adding that 500 firefighters were tackling the flames and six aircraft have been sent in to help.

Spain

In Santa Cruz de la Seros, in the Spanish province of Huesca, authorities had to remove the remains of three 11th-century kings after the monastery where their remains are kept were threatened by a wildfire.

On its first attempt, an emergency military unit managed to enter the monastery but was forced to flee by the flames.

The team returned accompanied by police officers and heritage officials and managed to retrieve the remains of the kings.

(c) Sky News 2026: Skies turn red as wildfires burn across Europe - with thousands of people evacuated