A large fire near Athens has been extinguished, but the heat wave in Europe keeps the authorities on alert | Wagon Radio 720

ATHENS, Greece (AP) – The Greek Fire Service ramped up water cannons west of Athens, where a large fire was extinguished overnight, as officials braced for new extreme weather on Thursday.

Seven firefighters and nine helicopters were active in the area, including four from Italy and France as part of the European Union’s support mechanism.

Heatwaves continue across Europe’s southern Mediterranean, with Spain, Italy and Greece remaining at high or very high fire risk.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said fire departments and civil protection officials would remain vigilant as a new heat wave moved east across Greece. Temperatures are expected to reach 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) on Sunday.

“The difficult times are clearly not over yet,” Mitsotakis said. “We are facing another heat wave and the winds are likely to pick up.

A state of emergency was declared in Rhodes on Thursday, with evacuation orders issued for several mountainous areas.

Spanish public news agency EFE reported on Thursday that a 42-year-old Moroccan man in Spain died Wednesday of heat-related problems. The man collapsed on a road in the southeastern province of Murcia, the agency said.

Temperatures in Murcia reached a high of 44 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday. Málaga hit a record high of 44.2 degrees Celsius, matching the record for any southern coastal city, according to the Spanish Meteorological Agency.

Temperatures are expected to drop on Friday and rise again on Sunday when Spaniards are called to vote in the national elections.