Much of Europe is facing high temperatures as August begins, with some places feeling the heat worse than others.
Rome in Italy and parts of Albania and North Macedonia have seen some of the worst fire incidents so far this year.
In Rome, a huge fire burned the nature reserve of Monte Mario.
Firefighters were seen dropping water from helicopters on the blaze in the hilly area, while many residents were evacuated as flames approached nearby buildings.
As reported, the location of the fire was not far from the studios of Italian public broadcaster RAI and only 2.5 kilometers from St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
Meanwhile, fires have continued to burn in Albania, Euronews writes, Telegrafi follows.
Many of them also approached the houses in the southern village of Mashkullore in the district of Gjirokastra, but without damage.
However, in the coastal city of Shengjin, the situation was more serious.
Hundreds of firefighters, military personnel and volunteers managed to control a huge fire that damaged buildings and bars on the beach, causing visitors to flee in panic.
To put out the flames in the city, a Cougar helicopter of the Albanian army and two Italian Canadair planes, part of the Civil Protection Mechanism of the European Union, helped.
In North Macedonia, a large fire has broken out east of Sveti Nikolas.
An army helicopter and three Air Tractor planes have been deployed to extinguish the fire.
In the village of Kokoshinje, between Sveti Nikolas and Probishtip, an elderly man died of smoke inhalation after the village was engulfed in fire.
Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski assured the public that there are enough firefighters to manage the fires, even though they are at their historical peak.
Only yesterday, 66 active outdoor fires were reported, 40 of which were successfully extinguished.
Otherwise, Serbia has lent two helicopters to North Macedonia to help fight the heavy forest fire that is spreading near the Prohor Pcinjski monastery, on the border between the two countries.
