In Photos: Deadly Wildfires the Mediterranean Destroy Homes, Threaten Nature Reserves

A firefighter react by a fence, looking at burnt land in Messina, Sicily, after a fire raged, July 26, 2023. At least five people have died in Italy in the north and fires in Sicily, which could prompt the government to declare a state of emergency in the worst-hit regions. 

Military members of emergency services work to contain a wildfire near Cakran, Fier, Albania, July 26, 2023.

A man extinguish a fire burning a house in the Tono district of Messina, Sicily, Italy, July 26, 2023.

Plumes of fire and smoke cover the hills surrounding Palermo's airport, Sicily, Italy, late Monday night, July 24, 2023, causing its shutdown and leaving planes trapped on the tarmac. The airport reopened on July 25 only for departing planes. 

Local residents try to slow down flames approaching their houses in Alcabideche, outside Lisbon, Portugal, July 25, 2023.

A man takes pictures of a wildfire as embers fly about him in Alcabideche, outside Lisbon, Portugal, July 25, 2023.

A man walks past a burned area after a fire near Kassiopi, Greece, July 26, 2023. Wildfires have been raging in Greece amid scorching temperatures, forcing mass evacuations in several tourist spots including on the islands of Rhodes and Corfu. 

Flames and smoke rise as a wildfire burns near the village of Gennadi, on the island of Rhodes, Greece, July 25, 2023.

A local runs to avoid the flames of a wildfire in Gennadi village, on the Aegean Sea island of Rhodes, southeastern Greece, July 25, 2023. A firefighting plane has crashed in southern Greece, killing both crew members, as authorities are battling fires across the country amid a return of heat wave temperatures.

Flames burn a tree in Vati village, on the Aegean Sea island of Rhodes, southeastern Greece, July 25, 2023. A third successive heat wave in Greece pushed temperatures back above 40° C (104° F) across parts of the country following more nighttime evacuations from fires that have raged out of control for days. 

A firefighter cools himself with water while extinguishing a wildfire in Antalya, Turkey, July 25, 2023.

A man picks up a damaged metal frame while going through the rubble of a destroyed building in the aftermath of a forest fire near the town of Melloula in northwestern Tunisia close to the border with Algeria, July 26, 2023.

The charred bodies of chicken lie on the ground at a poultry farm in the aftermath of a forest fire near the town of Melloula in northwestern Tunisia close to the border with Algeria, July 26, 2023. At least 300 people were evacuated by sea and by land from Melloula, according to the Tunisian national guard, as fires raged again there.

Men inspect burnt vehicles, in the aftermath of a wildfire in Bejaia, Algeria, July 25, 2023.