Wildfires engulf parts of Portugal amid heatwaveMadrid, July 17: Wildfires continued to rage Saturday in France and Spain as more than 10,000 people were evacuated from Gironde prefecture in southwestern Bordeaux, France.
In Gironde, 1,200 firefighters worked to bring the blaze under control as it burned for a fifth day, regional authorities said.
The deputy prefect for Langon in Gironde Vincent Ferrier told reporters that the fire "will continue to spread as long as it is not stabilized."
More than 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) were on fire in Gironde Saturday, up from 7,300 hectares on Friday.
Elsewhere in France, a fire near the Atlantic coastal resort of Arcachon was contained overnight.
More than a third of France's administrative departments or sub-regions faced an "orange" alert with residents there asked to be vigilant. France's heatwave is expected to hit its high temperature of 40 degrees Centigrade (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday.
Wildfires engulf parts of Portugal amid heatwave
Across Spain, firefighters are also battling several wildfires after days of soaring temperatures hit as high as 45.7 degrees Centigrade. The Carlos III Health Institute said 360 heat related deaths during the recent heat wave.
In a tweet early Saturday, Malaga province emergency authorities said 3,000 people had to be evacuated from their homes, the result of a blaze near the town of Mijas, a town popular with northern European tourists.
Elsewhere in Spain, in the Extremadura region, helicopters dumped water after some 3,000 hectares were torched near Casas de Miravete, forcing two villages to be evacuated and threatening the nearby Monfrague national park.
Fires were also reported in the central Castilla and Leon region and in northwestern Galicia.
Wildfires to increase up to 30% by 2050
Temperatures dropped Saturday after several days at 40 degrees Centigrade, offering firefighters and residents some respite.
Andre Fernandes of Portugal's Emergency and Civil Protection Authority Commander said, "We will keep extreme vigilance this weekend," even as temperatures climb down.
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 heatwave over the past week, Portugal's Ministry of Health said 238 people had died, mostly elderly with preexisting health conditions.
Source: DW