Flames tore through residential areas and threatened historic sites as wildfires burned across Greece for a fifth day on Saturday, a scene so apocalyptic that one local official described it as “a biblical catastrophe,” the Associated Press reports.
More than 100 wildfires have been reported across Greece this week as record-breaking temperatures scorch the nation. Greece had its most intense heat wave in three decades, with temperatures in Athens reaching a high of 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 degrees Celsius). Most of the fires have been quickly stamped out, but several others burned out of control into massive infernos, forcing thousands of residents and tourists to flee.