The Madre Fire was reported shortly after noon Wednesday, July 2, along Highway 166 about 25 miles east of Santa Maria.

Hundreds of firefighters are working to contain a massive, fast-moving wildfire that exploded near California’s Central Coast on Wednesday, forcing evacuations in two counties. (ALERTCalifornia | UC S

A rapidly spreading wildfire in Southern California quickly became the state’s largest fire of the year after igniting on Wednesday, leading to evacuations.

Authorities on Crete moved more than a thousand tourists and residents to safety as an out-of-control wildfire engulfed a forested area in the southwest of the island.

The blaze has been raging since Wednesday and fire crews say the conditions are creating new flare-ups, making containment efforts extremely difficult.

Firefighters are struggling to bring a major wildfire on Greece’s southern island of Crete under control, hampered by gale force winds that are whipping up the flames.

Spanish authorities say two people have died in northeastern Spain in a wildfire that spread quickly before firefighters brought it under control.

LONDON (Reuters) -Wildfires have killed two people in Spain and two others have died in France because of a heatwave that has gripped Europe and forced the closure of a nuclear reactor at a Swiss power plant.

The heat wave in Europe helped fuel a wildfire in Spain that killed two farmers, taking hundreds of firefighters to bring it under control.