Wildfires raging across Europe force thousands to flee


Wildfires are spreading across Europe, forcing more people to flee, as a deadly heat wave engulfs much of the continent, which officials warn is being exacerbated by climate change.

The big picture: Firefighters are battling blazes in France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Croatia and Slovenia, as well as in the northern mountains of Morocco – where a forest fire has killed at least one person and forced the evacuation of more than 1,000 families.

  • More than 16,000 people have fled wildfires in southwestern France, with several regions on alert for record high temperatures on Monday.
  • About 3,200 residents have been evacuated from Spain’s Mijas hills, although some have since returned, the BBC reported, with more than 1,000 heat-related deaths in Spain and fires in Portugal in recent days.

What to see: Although officials say the fires in Portugal are under control, they are warning that the danger will be high after temperatures of up to 108 degrees Fahrenheit are forecast this week.

Meanwhile, English farmers are worried about the risk of crop fires after the UK Met Office issued its first red warning for extreme temperatures – there is an 80% chance of the national temperature hitting 101.66°F (38.7°C). Wednesday.

in photos
In the year  July 17, 2022 A wildfire burns thousands of hectares on the Vilomara Pont in Barcelona, ​​Spain.
People watch the Vilomara wildfire in Vilomara El Pont, north of Barcelona, ​​Spain, after more than 2,000 hectares of land burned in a few hours on July 17. Photo: Gian Marco Benedetto/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
In the year  July 17, 2022 Fire from Portugal in Oimbra, Ourense, Galicia, Spain.
In the year A fire traveling from Portugal to Oimbra, Ourense in Galicia, Spain on July 17th.
    A helicopter took off from Alharin de la Torre in the Sierra de Mijas mountain range in Malaga province on July 15.
A helicopter drops water on a wildfire in the Sierra de Mijas mountain range in southern Spain. Photo: Jorge Gore/AFP
Tourists watch a plume of dark smoke on the beach in Arcachon from their peers in Andersen-les-Bains.
Tourists look at the dark smoke from their peers on the beach in Arcachon, France, from a wildfire that broke out in a forest near La Teste, southwest France, on July 14. Nice and Europe’s tallest sand dune, Dune du Pilat, on July 17, by AP. Photo: Olivier Morin/AFP via Getty Images
Today, July 11, 2022, in Aggius, Sassari, Italy, a cargo plane drops water on a fire that has destroyed dozens of hectares of land in the province of Sassari.
In the year A fire that has destroyed dozens of hectares of land in Aggius, in the autonomous island region of Sassari, Sardinia, Italy, has four fires burning on the island and dozens more burning in mainland Italy as of July 18. With data from NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System. Photo: Emmanuel Perrone/Getty Images
A forest ranger sprays water from a hose on a forest fire near the Larache region of Ksar el-Kebir, Morocco, on July 15.
On July 15, 2008, a forest guard fought to prevent a fire near Kasar El-Kabir, in the Larache region of Morocco.

Go deep; As temperatures rise in the US, a historic heat wave, wildfires hit Europe

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