• Firefighters battle major wildfires in Greece, Turkey, France, and Spain amid challenging weather conditions.
• Three firefighters killed and four injured in the wildfires in Greece.
• Thousands of evacuated residents in France and Spain return home as firefighters make progress in containing the blazes.

Firefighters continued battling major wildfires in Greece and Turkey on Thursday, while the situation eased in France and Spain, allowing thousands of evacuated residents to return home.

Hot, dry weather and strong winds continued to fuel blazes across parts of south-eastern Europe, hampering firefighting efforts.

The wildfire situation on the Greek island of Crete continued to worsen, with gale-force northerly winds repeatedly fanning the flames and making firefighting operations increasingly difficult.

A new fire broke out near the village of Preveli, where the coastguard evacuated around 50 people from a stretch of coastline because of dense smoke.

Firefighters have been battling the blazes for a second consecutive day, with many crews reportedly exhausted. Water-bombing aircraft and helicopters have also been operating only to a limited extent because of the extreme winds.

Additional fires were reported on the Aegean islands of Andros, Kalymnos and Paros. Meteorologists described the weather conditions as exceptional, with powerful wind gusts expected to ease only later on Friday.

Three firefighters were killed and four others injured in the wildfires on Wednesday.

Turkey brings most fires under control

Emergency crews in Turkey continued to battle numerous wildfires in the country's south and west, where strong winds have complicated firefighting efforts.

Since Wednesday, authorities have responded to 169 fires nationwide, 163 of which had been brought fully under control by Thursday evening, state news agency Anadolu quoted Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli as saying.

Wildfires in the Kaş district of Antalya province and in the western province of Isparta were brought under control after intensive aerial and ground operations, Yumakli said.

He added that 21 aircraft, 69 helicopters, around 500 fire engines and more than 3,500 personnel had been deployed nationwide.

Thousands return home in France

The situation also continued to improve in France, where 144,000 of the 224,000 people evacuated from wildfire-hit areas along the Atlantic coast have now returned home.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said on Thursday evening that "the worst is behind us" but cautioned that authorities remained vigilant.

Officials said two active fire fronts remained on the Cap Ferret peninsula and south of the town of Lacanau near Bordeaux, while firefighters had brought other flare-ups in southern France, Burgundy and the Fontainebleau forest near Paris under control.

Spain sees further improvement

In Spain, wildfires in the regions of Madrid, Ávila and Toledo have largely been contained, with most evacuation orders and movement restrictions lifted.

Authorities also reported progress in the eastern province of Castellón, where a large wildfire near Vall d'Uixó, north of Valencia, was no longer spreading.

The Spanish Interior Ministry lowered the national emergency level to the second of four operational stages but urged residents to continue following official instructions as firefighting operations continued in the affected north-western regions.