Flames rapidly spread toward the mountain ridges.

Firefighters continuously spray water, but the fierce fire, fueled by strong winds, shows little sign of subsiding.

Wildfires sweeping across Europe have now hit Greek islands crowded with summer vacation tourists.

On the Aegean island of Paros, a wildfire that started at a landfill spread rapidly due to strong winds, prompting evacuation orders for 10 nearby villages.

Two firefighters lost their lives during firefighting operations on the island of Crete.

[Interview / Resident of Greek Wildfire-Affected Area: It was a dangerous situation, but we gathered our strength and managed to put out the fire. Fortunately, the direction of the wind changed, and we avoided disaster.]

The battle against wildfires continues in Spain and France as well.

Although the recent spread has somewhat abated, firefighting efforts continue to face difficulties as record-breaking heatwaves persist.

So far this year, 153,000 hectares in Spain and approximately 116,000 hectares in France have been reduced to ashes.

Satellite photos of the Gironde region in France vividly show the disaster-stricken area blanketed in smoke.

[Interview / Resident of France's Gironde Region: I wear a mask, check the air quality every morning, and adjust my schedule for the day accordingly.]

The local economy is also taking a hit.

In the Gironde region, centered around Bordeaux, more than 14,500 businesses are experiencing disruptions in normal operations.

Operational disruptions are also projected to be inevitable for regional production facilities of major aerospace and defense companies such as Airbus, Dassault, and Safran, alongside the wine industry and agri-food production.

Restoration costs are snowballing, with France expected to spend up to 300 million euros on forest restoration alone, and Spain's firefighting costs also projected to reach billions of euros.

Concerns are even rising that these climate disaster bills will place a new burden on the already vulnerable finances of the two countries.

Reported by Gwak Sang-eun | Video by Lee Sang-min | Produced by SBS Digital News