Greece, Spain and Portugal race to contain wildfires as EU steps up cross-border help

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Fire crews in Greece, Spain and Portugal raced to contain wildfires on Thursday, taking advantage of calmer winds that slowed the blazes even as much of southern Europe remained at high risk under hot, dry conditions.

A drop in wind speeds allowed firefighting aircraft in the three hard-hit countries to step up water drops, concentrating on existing fire zones rather than chasing fast-moving fronts. Authorities warned that extreme temperatures are likely to persist.

Spanish authorities reported the death of a 37-year-old volunteer firefighter who sustained severe burns in an area north of Madrid this week. It was the third reported death in Spain due to the recent fires. Thousands of people were evacuated from their homes in the region and still can not return.

In Greece, the Fire Service said a major blaze outside the southern port city of Patras has been contained on the outskirts of urban areas after a large-scale deployment. Three people have been arrested in connection with the fire, which authorities said may have been deliberately set.

High winds in Greece shifted to different parts of the country on Thursday. Ioannis Kefalogiannis, the civil protection minister, said authorities were bracing for the likelihood of a new round of major fires.

“Under such conditions, even a single spark is enough to trigger an uncontrollable fire," he told reporters. “This combination of weather and geographical factors leaves us no room for complacency.”

The European Union’s civil protection agency said it responded to requests for assistance this week from Greece, Spain, Bulgaria, Montenegro and Albania, sending firefighting planes and helicopters from other member states.

The agency said it had already activated assistance 16 times amid this summer's wildfires as European countries have been hit by a “high number of catastrophic wildfires.”

The number of activations for 2025 already matches the total for wildfires during the entire 2024 fire season, it said.

Cars and burned trees are pictured during one of the largest wildfire in decades in Fontjoncouse, southern France, Friday, Aug. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

A man tries to put out a wildfire in Larouco, northwestern Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Lalo R. Villar)

A helicopter drops water on a wildfire in Larouco, northwestern Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Lalo R. Villar)

Local residents and volunteers try to put out a wildfire in Larouco, northwestern Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Lalo R. Villar)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An ailing astronaut returned to Earth with three others on Thursday, ending their space station mission more than a month early in NASA’s first medical evacuation.

SpaceX guided the capsule to a middle-of-the-night splashdown in the Pacific near San Diego, less than 11 hours after the astronauts exited the International Space Station.

“It’s so good to be home,” said NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, the capsule commander.

It was an unexpected finish to a mission that began in August and left the orbiting lab with only one American and two Russians on board. NASA and SpaceX said they would try to move up the launch of a fresh crew of four; liftoff is currently targeted for mid-February.

Cardman and NASA’s Mike Fincke were joined on the return by Japan’s Kimiya Yui and Russia’s Oleg Platonov. Officials have refused to identify the astronaut who had the health problem or explain what happened, citing medical privacy.

While the astronaut was stable in orbit, NASA wanted them back on Earth as soon as possible to receive proper care and diagnostic testing. The entry and splashdown required no special changes or accommodations, officials said, and the recovery ship had its usual allotment of medical experts on board. It was not immediately known when the astronauts would fly from California to their home base in Houston. Platonov’s return to Moscow was also unclear.

NASA stressed repeatedly over the past week that this was not an emergency. The astronaut fell sick or was injured on Jan. 7, prompting NASA to call off the next day’s spacewalk by Cardman and Fincke, and ultimately resulting in the early return. It was the first time NASA cut short a spaceflight for medical reasons. The Russians had done so decades ago.

The space station has gotten by with three astronauts before, sometimes even with just two. NASA said it will be unable to perform a spacewalk, even for an emergency, until the arrival of the next crew, which has two Americans, one French and one Russian astronaut.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

This screengrab from video provided by NASA TV shows the SpaceX Dragon departing from the International Space Station shortly after undocking with four NASA Crew-11 members inside on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This photo provided by NASA shows clockwise from bottom left are, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, NASA astronaut Zena Cardman, and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui gathering for a crew portrait wearing their Dragon pressure suits during a suit verification check inside the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory module, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows recovery vessels approaching the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 capsule to evacuate one of the crew members after they re-entered the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 members re entering the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)

This screengrab from video provided by NASA shows the NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 members re entering the earth in a middle-of-the-night splashdown near San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (NASA via AP)