Thousands have been evacuated from their homes by authorities in France and Spain. More than 1,200 firefighters are deployed in Gironde, a prefecture in Bordeaux, France. Thousands of hectares have burned in Portugal.
Some 3,000 firefighters backed by water-dumping planes are battling the blazes in southern FranceImage: (SDIS 33/AP/picture alliance
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Firefighters struggled on Sunday to contain wildfires raging out of control in France and Spain as Europe wilts under an unusually extreme heat wave that authorities link to a rise in excess mortality.
Two huge blazes have burned their way through pine forests for six days just south of the city of Bordeaux in southwestern France. The fires have forced the evacuation of some 14,000 people, including many who were on holiday in the area.
Firefighters in Spain were supported by the armed forces' emergency brigades in trying to extinguish more than 30 fires consuming forests across the country.
The devastating forest fires are triggered by a summer heat wave in Europe. Parts of the continent are bracing for new temperature records early next week.
Meteo France is expecting new heat records on Monday.
The fire season has hit after an unusually dry, hot spring that left the soil parched and which authorities attribute to climate change.
Wildfires scorch southern Europe
Soaring summer temperatures are fanning forest fires in France, Spain, Portugal and other countries. Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes as firefighters seek to bring the flames under control.
Image: SDIS 33/AP/picture alliance
Two major fires ablaze in France
More than 1,200 firefighters backed by water-dumping planes were battling two fires burning near Bordeaux in southwetern France. Images shared by authorities showed flames racing through large tracts of pine forest. Regional prosecutors suspect the main fire, which started in the town of Landiras, may have been deliberately lit.
Image: SDIS 33/AP/picture alliance
Thousands evacuated to safety
The two fires have burned through at least 9,650 hectares (23,800 acres) in recent days, with high temperatures and strong winds complicating efforts to contain the flames. More than 14,000 residents and tourists have had to leave their properties. Some of them came to this evacuation center in La Teste-de-Buch.
Image: Gaizka Iroz/AFP/Getty Images
Black smoke on the beach
Plumes of black smoke from the fires could also be seen from beaches along France's Atlantic coast, a popular tourist area. The fires and high temperatures come as Europe begins its summer holiday season.
Image: Jerome Gilles/NurPhoto/picture alliance
Dozens of fires in Spain
In neighboring Spain, firefighters supported by the armed forces' emergency brigades were trying to contain more than 30 fires. Many of the blazes are in rugged terrain, making it difficult for ground crews to access. The country has had days of unusually high temperatures that topped 45.7 degrees Celsius (114 degrees Fahrenheit).
Image: Alex Zea/Europa Press/abaca/picture alliance
National park at risk
Helicopters were deployed to fight a major fire burning in Spain's southern Andalusia region. Some 3,000 people were evacuated from villages near Malaga — an area popular with European tourists. Meanwhile, in western Spain, a fire started by a lightning strike was burning out of control near Las Hurdes and threatening to spread into the nearby Monfrague National Park.
Image: Lorenzo Carnero/ZUMA/picture alliance
From north to south
Fires were also burning in Spain's central Castille region and in Galicia in the north, where some 3,500 hectares had been destroyed, according to the regional government.
Image: picture alliance / abaca
Residents lend a hand
Some of the worst blazes have been in Portugal, where citizens were working alongside firefighters to protect their homes. Hotter than average temperatures over the past week, including a July record of 47 C on Thursday, have helped fan the flames.
Image: Rodrigo Antunes/REUTERS
Pilot dies in crash
A pilot of a firefighting aircraft died in a crash while on an operation in northeastern Portugal. The blazes there have burned through 15,000 (37,000 acres) hectares of forest, injured more than 160 people and forced hundreds to be evacuated.
Image: Rodrigo Antunes/REUTERS
Other countries fighting fires
Many other European countries, including Croatia, Hungary and Greece, were also battling wildfires amid the extreme heat this week. Troops were called in to help firefighters contain three major blazes on the Croatian coast. And in the Italian resort of Bibione, near Venice, the coastguard had to save people from the sea after they fled a fire on land.
Image: AP Photo/picture alliance
Firefighting crew die off Samos
In Greece, firefighters were trying to contain a fire on the Mediterranean island of Crete. The government has raised its fire warning level for several Greek islands, including Euboea, Crete, Chios and Samos. A helicopter helping to fight a blaze on Samos earlier in the week crashed into the sea, killing two of ist four crew members.
Image: Michael Svarnias/AP Photo/picture alliance
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What is happening in France?
In France, the situation deteriorated in the southwestern Gironde region where firefighters were fighting to control forest blazes that have destroyed nearly 11,000 hectares (27,000 acres) since Tuesday.
The wildfires in France forced more than 16,000 people to flee. Seven emergency shelters have been set up for evacuees.
The Interior Ministry announced it would send an extra three firefighting planes, 200 firefighters and more trucks.
Authorities placed 15 departments, mainly down its western seaboard, on red alert — the highest on the scale — on Sunday.
Fifty one other departments were on orange high alert, with residents urged to be vigilant.
France's heat wave is expected to hit its high temperature of 40 degrees Centigrade (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday.
What is happening in Spain?
In Spain, firefighters managed to stabilize a wildfire that ravaged 2,000 hectares of woods and bushes in the southern region of Andalusia, regional leader Juan Manuel Moreno said.
The blaze started on Friday in the Mijas mountain range inland from the southern coastal city of Malaga. It led to the evacuation of about 3,000 people.
Around 2,000 people had since returned home and now that the blaze has stabilized, Moreno said the remaining evacuees may do the same.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is due to visit the hard-hit eastern region of Extremadura on Monday where various fires have been raging for days.
The national meteorological agency maintained various levels of alert across the nation, warning of up to 44 C in some regions.
The Carlos III Health Institute said 360 heat-related deaths have occurred during the recent heat wave.
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What is happening in Portugal?
Portugal remained on high alert for wildfires despite a slight drop in temperatures, after hitting 47 C — a record for the month of July — on Thursday.
Only one major fire was burning on Sunday in the north.
The fires have killed two, injured around 60 and destroyed between 12,000 and 15,000 hectares of land in the country.
The meteorological institute, meanwhile, forecast temperatures of up to 42 C for the coming days.
Over the course of 2022, until mid-June, 39,550 hectares in Portugal have been ravaged in wildfires, data from the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests shows. In the last week, almost two-thirds that amount has burned.
During the heat wave over the past week, Portugal's Health Ministry said 238 people had died, most were elderly with preexisting health conditions.
