Blazes burn near a gas station during a wildfire in the village of Theriano near Patras city, western Greece today. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

TWO PEOPLE HAVE died and thousands fled their homes as wildfires rage across southern Europe.

Heat alerts were issued in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and the Balkans, with temperatures expected to soar above 40 degrees.

The fires, fueled by scorching temperatures and strong winds, have burned hundreds of hectares of land, as well as a number of homes.

Greece has requested EU assistance to battle more than 100 wildfires stoked by fierce winds and dry conditions, the fire service said on Tuesday, as blazes flared across southern Europe.

Civil Protection members helps Stamatina (86) and her daughter Eleftheria during a fire in Keratea on the outskirts of Athens on Friday. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

In Greece, the most dangerous new wildfires are burning on the popular tourist island of Zante and western parts of the country, including the Achaia region in the Peloponnese where around 20 villages were evacuated, the fire service said.

Greece has requested four water bombers from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, fire brigade spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis told a press briefing.

Police are investigating the causes of the blazes on suspicion of arson due to the large number of outbreaks in western Greece.

Ferocious winds reaching up to 88 kilometres per hour have lashed the country since last week, fanning a wildfire south of Athens in which one person died, and are due to continue until Thursday.

One person already died in a large wildfire near Athens.

Dozens of people were evacuated from homes and an elderly care centre as the flames neared the coastal resort of Palea Fokea.

Firefighters later found the remains of an elderly man in a hut near Keratea.

A view from the city beach in Naples of a column of smoke from a large fire on the slopes of Vesuvius volcano Alamy Alamy

A four-year-old boy died of heatstroke in Italy after being found unconscious in his family’s car on the island of Sardinia.

The news came as Italy’s health ministry issued a red alert warning for seven major cities, including Bologna and Florence.

Some 11 Italian cities are on red alert for Tuesday, and 16 cities on Wednesday. 

In north-west Spain, more than 1,000 people were evacuated on Sunday as wildfires spread.

One man, who was living in the suburbs of Madrid, died in hospital today from burns. 

In less than 40 minutes, the fire had advanced six kilometres to the Tres Cantos neighbourhood and hundreds were forced to flee.

Further south, around 400 people were displaced from the town of Carucedo, and another 700 from several towns near the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Las Medulas.

The head of the regional government of Castile and Leon, Alfonso Manueco, said experts suspect several of the blazes were set by arsonists.

Firefighters said scorching temperatures, low air humidity levels and strong winds which often changed direction were complicating their efforts to put out the flames.

A woman with a blanket in the Espacio Enrique Mas where residents of Tres Cantos who evacuated their homes spent the night Alamy Alamy

In France, one person died last week in fires that continue to plague the country’s Aud department.

The second biggest wildfire in 50 years burned an area the size of Paris in less than 24 hours.

Temperature records were broken in at least four weather stations in the south yesterday.

Three-quarters of the country was under heat alerts on Tuesday, with temperatures forecast to top 40 degrees in the Rhone Valley. The Rhone department banned outdoor public events.

In the southwestern city of Bordeaux, the mercury reached 41.6 degrees Celsius at around 4pm, compared with a previous record of 41.2 degrees on 23 July, 2019.

All-time records were also broken at weather stations in Bergerac, Cognac and Saint Girons.

The heatwave is forecast to last at least until the weekend.

A house burnt in Albas, southern France Alamy Alamy

Several parts of the Balkans are also tipped to climb above 40C this week, with highest temperatures expected in Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia.

Wildfires reportedly destroyed several homes in Albania, but most of the close to 40 fires have been subdued in the last 24 hours, the country’s defence ministry said.

Since the start of July, nearly 34,000 hectares have been scorched in Albania, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.

A forest on fire last night in Tirana, Albania Alamy Alamy

Just outside the capital of neighbouring Montenegro, a soldier died and another was seriously injured when their water tanker overturned while fighting wildfires in the hills north of the capital, Podgorica.

In Croatia, around 150 firefighters also spent the night defending homes from a blaze near the port city of Split.

Police there also allege that many of the blazes have been deliberately lit, and more than 20 people have been arrested in recent weeks.

“An intentional fire is not only a crime, but a betrayal,” Prime Minister Edi Rama said in a statement.

With additional reporting from AFP