In an eerie reminder of life in Greece during the Covid-19 lockdowns, the chairs at the sidewalk cafes all over Athens are mostly empty. It is simply too hot to sit outside until after the sun sets. As smoke streams in above the hazy Athenian sky from fires burning out of control nearby, locals are now wondering aloud whether the summer of unprecedented heat will ever end.

So far the answer appears to be “no.” Evening winds fueled a major wildfire just west of Greece’s capital Thursday, triggering a series of new evacuations outside Athens as authorities braced for more of the extreme weather that has brought searing heat to southern Europe.

Authorities had declared the huge blaze in West Attica contained overnight and Greece’s Fire Service intensified water drops with the help of 11 firefighting airplanes and 11 helicopters, including four aircraft provided by Italy and France to Greece through the EU’s RescEU mechanism.

Firefighters lost control of the fire when the wind picked up, fire service officials said.

The fire has been raging since Tuesday and already burned nearly 20 square miles of forest and scrubland.  Overall in Greece there were 62 forest fires in the last 24 hours, most of which were put out early on, but with a new heat wave already starting amid pervasive windy and dry conditions the threat of fire throughout Greece is extremely high.

Some residents ignored the latest evacuation orders to try to save their homes. Chrysoula Renieri, 72, said relatives had helped her try to save the family home near Loutraki, a resort town 50 miles west of Athens, but the wildfire cut off water in the area.

“It’s all gone. We have suffered too much damage,” Ms. Renieri said, standing under a blackened and buckled ceiling in the gutted home.

Stifling heat across Europe’s Mediterranean south created a high or very high risk of fire in Spain, Italy, and Greece.

Major archaeological sites like the Acropolis were set to close during the hottest part of the day, offering some relief to employees and tourists but also throwing a monkey wrench into many travelers’ plans.

Prime Minister Mitsotakis said the Fire Service and civil protection authority would remain on alert as a new heat wave moved east across the country. Weather forecasts said temperatures could reach 113 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday.

“The hard times are clearly not over yet,” Mr. Mitsotakis said. “We are facing another heat wave and a possible strengthening of the winds. So, absolute vigilance and absolute readiness are required over the next few days.”

A state of emergency was declared Thursday on the Greek island of Rhodes, where evacuation orders were issued for several mountain areas.

In Spain, a 42-year-old Moroccan man died from a heat-related issue on Wednesday, Spain’s public news agency EFE reported Thursday. The agency said that the man collapsed on a street in southeast Spain’s Murcia region.

Temperatures in Murcia peaked at 111.2 F on Wednesday. Malaga hit 111.6 F, matching an all-time record for the southern coastal city, Spain’s weather service said.

Temperatures in southern Spain were expected to fall on Friday before rising again on Sunday, when the country is holding an early national election. 

In Italy, temperatures as high as 111 F were recorded in Sicily, while public health warnings to protect children, older adults and people with health problems remained in effect on the island and much of the Italian mainland.

Southern Europe’s major tourist cities like Rome and Athens are even quieter at night right now, which is  atypical for summer. Some residents are deterred by the health hazards of exposure to excessive heat.  According to a statement from the World Meteorological Organization this week, “While most of the attention focuses on daytime maximum temperatures, it is the overnight temperatures which have the biggest health risks, especially for vulnerable populations.”