Wildfires continued to rage in France and Spain on Saturday as more than 10,000 people were evacuated from the Gironde region in southwest Bordeaux.
In Gironde, 1,200 firefighters worked to contain the blaze for a fifth day, regional officials said.
Vincent Ferrier, deputy governor of Langone in the Gironde, told reporters that the fire will continue to spread until it is calmed down.
More than 10,000 hectares (24,000 acres) burned in the Gironde on Saturday, up from 7,300 hectares on Friday.
What is happening in France?
Elsewhere in France, a fire near the Atlantic beach resort of Arcachon was brought under control overnight.
More than 1/3 of France’s administrative departments and municipalities are under an “orange” alert, urging residents to remain vigilant. The French heat wave is expected to hit a maximum of 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday.
What is happening in Spain?
Across Spain, firefighters are battling several raging blazes that have seen temperatures as high as 45.7 C. for days. In the recent heat wave at the Carlos III Health Institute, 360 people lost their lives due to the heat.
Malaga state emergency officials said on Twitter early Saturday that 3,000 people had to evacuate their homes after a fire broke out near the northern European tourist town of Mijas.
Elsewhere in Spain, in the Extremadura region, after nearly 3,000 hectares of land burned in the Casas de Miravet area, helicopters dropped water, forcing the evacuation of two villages and threatening the nearby Monfrage National Park.
Fires were also reported in the central Castilla and León regions and northwestern Galicia.
What is happening in Portugal?
Temperatures dropped by 40C on Saturday after several days, giving firefighters and residents some respite.
Andre Fernandez, head of Portugal’s National Civil Protection Authority, said: “Although the temperature will drop this weekend, we will be very careful.”
In the year By mid-June 2022, 39,550 hectares of land had been destroyed by wildfires in Portugal, according to data from the Institute of Nature and Forestry. Last week, two-thirds of that amount was burned.
During last week’s heat wave, Portugal’s health ministry said 238 people had died, most of them elderly people with pre-existing health conditions.
R/KB (AP, Reuters)
