Firefighters battled multiple wildfires across Greece on Wednesday, including blazes threatening villages and towns near the western city of Patras and on two tourist islands.

Axar.az informs, citing Reuters, fires have burned houses, farms, and factories, and prompted the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists since Tuesday.

Dozens of people have been taken to the hospital suffering from smoke inhalation since Tuesday, public broadcaster ERT reported. Some 13 firefighters have been treated for burns and other injuries, fire brigade spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis told a televised briefing on Wednesday.

Nearly 5,000 firefighters assisted by 33 aircraft were deployed from dawn to contain the flames stoked by winds and hot, dry conditions near Patras, on the tourist islands of Chios and Zakynthos, and in at least three inland spots.

Authorities ordered residents of a town of about 7,700 people near Patras to evacuate on Tuesday and issued new alerts on Wednesday, advising residents of two nearby villages to leave their homes.

Spain, Portugal, Turkiye, and the Balkans have also battled wildfires in recent days as a heatwave pushed temperatures over 40 °C across parts of Europe. In Albania and Montenegro, wildfires have destroyed houses and possessions since last week.