Fires Rage Across Parched Woodlands in Eastern Europe

Thousands of weary firefighters struggled Tuesday to control the worst Polish forest fires in decades, while drought-parched woodlands from Russia to Greece also erupted in flames.

In Belarus, hit by the worst dry spell in a century, fires have kicked up radioactive dust and ash left by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident, threatening people and livestock.

At least 1,350 fires in Poland burned nearly 24,700 acres before crews brought most of the major blazes under control Tuesday, said Bogdan Przyslupski, a spokesman at the national fire brigade headquarters.

“It was a black Monday for our forests,” he said.

In one of the worst fires, more than 10,000 Polish and German firefighters used aircraft and heavy equipment to contain flames along the border of the two nations. The fire forced the closing of a border crossing at Olszyna for seven hours.