Tourists heading to popular holiday hotspots including Greece, Spain and Turkey have been urged to be on their guard for wildfires. Forest fire season runs from June to September in Europe, with the peak in July and August. Travel writer Ash Bhardwaj warned Brits to be aware as some spots might see temperatures peak at over 50C.
He told the BBC: “As a place gets drier and hotter you’re more likely to get wildfires. Over the last five years, 13% of travel insurance claims have been evacuations or related to natural disasters so this is something that can affect travel.”
According to the insurer Staysure, you should contact your airline, tour operator or travel provider as soon as you can if affected by wildfires. If you want to change travel dates because of such blazes then, again, you should contact your travel provider.
If it is possible to rearrange your holiday, then Staysure advises checking if you need to update your travel insurance with your new dates. This could incur a cost.
It may be possible to claim the cost of your trip back through your holiday insurance if your travel provider can’t offer a refund or rebooking, according to Staysure’s advice.
Travel insurance can include cover for unforeseen events such as wildfires, but cover can vary between providers so you will need to check your policy documents to see what you are covered and are not covered for.
Vikki Measures, a former content exec at Staysure, said: “You may be covered if you can’t stay at your booked accommodation because of wildfires and need to move to different accommodation.
“The fires must have been unforeseen when you bought your policy or booked your trip, whichever was later.”
Money to the Masses warned travel insurance will only aim to cover irrecoverable losses, meaning if you can get compensation from your holiday provider or credit card provider then you might not be covered by your policy. It is worthwhile checking the Foreign Office’s travel guidance website to check if your destination is safe to travel to.
According to the EU’s earth observation programme, Copernicus, there was an average to slightly above average fire danger level across most of Europe in 2024.
Fire danger uses a Fire Weather Index to understand how weather conditions influence flammability and give an idea of the potential spread and intensity of a blaze.
In Europe last year, the highest values were in September due to a combination of dry conditions and strong winds, especially in Portugal and parts of Spain.
Southeastern Europe also saw above-average fire danger in June and August because of extreme temperatures. Almost 4,000 people had to be evacuated from the resort city of Izmir on Turkey’s Aegean coast during a wildfire in August last year.
Places which saw substantial wildfires in 2024 include Greece and Madeira. There was also “intense” wildfire activity in Romania and Bulgaria, according to Copernicus.