Wildfires rage in France and Spain as heatwaves flame Europe

Agencies | Paris

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Wildfires raged in southwestern France and Spain, forcing thousands of people to evacuate from their homes as blistering summer temperatures alerted authorities in parts of Europe. About 14,000 people had been evacuated from France's Gironde region by Saturday afternoon as more than 1,200 firefighters battled to bring the flames under control.

"We have a fire that will continue to spread as long as it is not stabilized," Vincent Ferrier, deputy prefect for Langon in Gironde said. Wildfires tore through France in recent weeks and other European countries including Portugal and Spain, and more than 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) of land were on fire in the Gironde region on Saturday, up from 7,300 hectares on Friday. 

38 of France's 96 departments were listed on "orange" alert, with residents of those areas urged to be vigilant. Firefighters battled a series of blazes on Saturday after days of unusually high temperatures that reached up to 45.7 C (114 F).

The nearly week-long heatwave caused 360 heat-related deaths, according to figures from the Carlos III Health Institute. More than 3,000 people were evacuated from homes due to a large wildfire near Mijas, a town in Malaga that is popular with northern European tourists, the region's emergency services said.

Thick black plumes of smoke rose into the air near Casas de Miravete in the Extremadura region as helicopters dumped water on flames that have scorched 3,000 hectares, forced the evacuation of two villages, and threatened to reach the Monfrague national park.

"We have had big fires and we don't want them to be reactivated again and will keep extreme vigilance this weekend," Emergency and Civil Protection Authority Commander Andre Fernandes said. Portugal's Health Ministry said 238 people died as a result of the heatwave between July 7 and 13, most of them older people with underlying conditions.