Fires around the Mediterranean

Over the past few weeks, high temperatures and strong winds have fueled a number of devastating fires in countries around the Mediterranean Sea. Spain, France, Italy and Greece have had hundreds of thousands of acres of forest and farmland devastated, dozens of homes destroyed and at least seven people killed, including six Spanish firefighters. Many of the fires have been contained, but much work remains, aided by the recent arrival of somewhat cooler temperatures. (35 photos total)

A helicopter tries to extinguish a wildfire next to a house near Nuoro, in the centre of Sardinia, Italy on July 23, 2009. (MASSIMO LOCCI/AFP/Getty Images)

A bush fire threatens residences in the southern French city of Marseille, July 23, 2009. More than 300 people were evacuated from their homes on the outskirts of Marseille as bush fires started by a military exercise neared the city, officials said. (REUTERS/Philippe Laurenson) #

Cinders fly in the air as a member of the fire brigade of Belchite works to fight the fire in Andorra early on July 23, 2009, near Teruel. Some 500 people were battling a wind-fueled wildfire in northeastern Spain on July 22nd, one which claimed the lives of four firefighters and seriously injured two others, Defence Minister Carme Chacon said. (PEDRO ARMESTRE/AFP/Getty Images) #

A forest fire ravages woods near homes in the town of Tigalate on La Palma Island on August 1, 2009. Some 4,000 people were evacuated from their homes on one of Spain's Canary Islands on August 1st as forest fires raged out of control, local officials said. (DESIREE MARTIN/AFP/Getty Images) #

A wildfire burns near the northern Spanish Basque village of Mendibil, close to Vitoria on July 22, 2009. Temperatures reached 41 degrees Celsius (105 degrees Fahrenheit) in many parts of Spain that day. (RAFA RIVAS/AFP/Getty Images) #

A fire-fighting helicopter collects water to control a wildfire in Segorbe, near Valencia, Spain on July 25, 2009. (REUTERS/Heino Kalis) #

A fireman walks past burning brush in a forest fire, in Marcalain, near to Pamplona, northern Spain on Wednesday July 22, 2009 - a day after four fire fighters died and two others were seriously injured in another fire in Horta de Sant Joan. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos) #

Members of the fire brigade "Romeo 10" of Segovia watch as a tanker plane makes a drop over a fire in Parras, near Avila, Spain on July 29, 2009. (PEDRO ARMESTRE/AFP/Getty Images) #

Firefighters cover themselves as a plane drops water on a fire near the town of Collado Mediado, northeast of Madrid, Spain on July 21, 2009. The fire forced the evacuation of some 2,000 people, the mayor of the town, Maria Rubio, told news radio Cadena Ser. (PEDRO ARMESTRE/AFP/Getty Images) #

Burnt fields are pictured near Ejulve, close to Teruel, Spain on July 25, 2009. (PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/AFP/Getty Images) #

A firefighter forbids access to residents of the village of Aullene in Corsica on July 25, 2009. Three fires started on July 23, 2009 in Corsica burned over 7,500 acres of forest. (STEPHAN AGOSTINI/AFP/Getty Images) #

Five Canadair planes fly above wildfires in Aliaga, near Teruel, Spain on July 25, 2009. (PEDRO ARMESTRE/AFP/Getty Images) #

A Greek Fire Service plane clears a hilltop, after just dumping its load of water on a forest fire outside the central Greek city of Thebes on Thursday, July 23, 2009. Six water-dropping planes and two helicopters were involved in the effort to contain the blaze, aided by a lull in high winds that had earlier threatened a village in the area. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) #

The shadow of a Greek Fire Service plane appears on the ground as smoke rises from a fire outside the central Greek city of Thebes on Thursday, July 23, 2009. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) #

This color photograph shows burnt trees in a forest near Ejulve, Spain on July 25, 2009, following forest fires across the region the day before. (PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/AFP/Getty Images) #

Firefighters tackle a forest fire in Larrayoz, Spain on Wednesday July 22, 2009. (AP Photo/EFE, Villar Lopez) #

An injured member of the Spanish Army Emergency Unit (UME) Mina lies on the ground following a road accident after battling a raging wildfire in Vegas de Coria, near Caceres, Spain on July 28, 2009. (PEDRO ARMESTRE/AFP/Getty Images) #

People view a forest fire advances in Tigalate on the Canary Island of La Palma, Spain on Sunday Aug. 2, 2009. (AP Photo/Carlos Moreno) #

A firefighting helicopter lifts water from a swimming pool in El Arenal, near Avila, Spain as forest fires raged in the region, on July 29, 2009. (PEDRO ARMESTRE/AFP/Getty Images) #

A member of the Spanish Army Emergency Unit (UME) tries to extinguish a wildfire burning in Canizar del Olivar, Spain on July 24, 2009. (PEDRO ARMESTRE/AFP/Getty Images) #

A helicopter carries water to extinguish a wildfire burning close to El Arenal, Spain on July 30, 2009. (PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/AFP/Getty Images) #

A member of the Spanish Army Emergency Unit refreshes himself after working on a wildfire burning in Mojacar, in the south of Spain, on July 24, 2009. (Jorge Guerrero/AFP/Getty Images) #

Volunteers use branches in an attempt to extinguish a wildfire near Nuoro, in the centre of Sardinia, on July 23, 2009. (MASSIMO LOCCI/AFP/Getty Images) #

A firefighting airplane drops water over a forest fire near Avlonari village on the island of Evia northeast of Athens, Greece on July 30, 2009. (REUTERS/Yiorgos Karahalis) #

A forest fire rages outside Cuevas del Valle in the Spanish province of Avila early on July 29, 2009. (PEDRO ARMESTRE/AFP/Getty Images) #

A fireman fights a forest fire ravaging woods near the town of Tigalate on La Palma Island, in Spain's Canary Islands, early on August 2, 2009. (DESIREE MARTIN/AFP/Getty Images) #

A forest fire rages in woods near the town of Tigalate on La Palma Island early on August 2, 2009. (DESIREE MARTIN/AFP/Getty Images) #

A member of the fire brigade of Belchite works around a fire in Andorra early on July 23, 2009. (PEDRO ARMESTRE/AFP/Getty Images) #

Night view around the area where a fire burns in Cambroncino, Spain on July 28, 2009. (PEDRO ARMESTRE/AFP/Getty Images) #

A fire races through a forest near the town of Tigalate on La Palma Island, Spain on August 2, 2009. (DESIREE MARTIN/AFP/Getty Images) #

A helicopter flies past the sun, a water-filled bucketslung beneath, on the way toward a wildfire burning in Mojacar near the town of Almeria, south of Spain, on July 24, 2009. (Jorge Guerrero/AFP/Getty Images) #

Smoke collects in a valley in Aliaga, near Teruel, Spain on July 24, 2009 after a wildfire burned out of control in the area the day before. (PEDRO ARMESTRE/AFP/Getty Images) #

A member of the Segovia fire brigade "Romeo 10" works on a fire in Parras, Spain, on July 29, 2009. (PEDRO ARMESTRE/AFP/Getty Images) #

An airplane dumps water on a forest fire which is burning out of control in Mazo municipality on the southern part of La Palma island in Spain's Canary Islands on August 2, 2009. (REUTERS/Santiago Ferrero) #

A bird rests on a charred tree limb shortly after a wildfire ravaged parts of the Spanish Canary Island of La Palma on August 3rd, 2009. (DESIREE MARTIN/AFP/Getty Images) #

E-mail this article

Sending your article

Your article has been sent.