Mitsotakis paid tribute to the fallen firefighters and cautioned that the threat was far from over. Civil protection officials placed Crete, the greater Athens area, the eastern Peloponnese and most of the Aegean islands on near-maximum fire alert as the risk of new outbreaks persisted. Separately, close to 100 firefighters were battling another blaze near the village of Plomari on the island of Lesbos. French authorities previously arrested two people on suspicion of arson in connection with a separate fire near Bordeaux. Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska had separately warned of three difficult days ahead for the country, citing strong winds and high temperatures expected to persist.