European Extreme Fire Season – Pyrocumulonimbus, Mass Evacuations, Helicopter Collision

A severe wildfire crisis in Europe: Greece week-long fire killed 3 firefighters; France pyrocumulonimbus (first in Europe) burned 160,000 ha, forced 300,000 evacuations, also killed 3 Greek firefighters. Now a Greek helicopter collision during firefighting killed 2, injured 1. This marks an extreme fire behavior era for Europe, challenging suppression capabilities and highlighting fatigue risks.