On Thursday,a "monster"wildfire raged for three days near Bordeaux, France's wine-growing capital. maybe before the weekend.
More than 1,000 firefighters, supported by water bombers, fought to contain the fires in southwest Gironde. The fires displaced thousands of people from their homes and scorched 6,800 hectares of forest.
"It's a demon, it's a monster," Gregory Arione of the French firefighters' association FNSPF told his RTL radio.
Read more: What is "zombie fire"?
Wildfires raged across Europe this summer as a series of heatwaves devoured the continent, bringing record temperatures and a renewed focus on the risks of climate change to industries and lives. Did.
In Spain, a firefighter was working on fires in six of his areas after a thunderstorm sparked new fires. In Portugal, emergency services struggled to contain forest fires six days before him.
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French Prime Minister Elisabeth visited the Gironde.
As the overnight darkened sky glowed orange over the burning forest and the fire progressed, locals faced another night of anxiety.
A firefighter said he managed to save the village of Berin. He called on residents to evacuate as the flames were approaching.
At her nearby Hostens, Allisson Fayol and her father stayed home, packing their bags in case they needed to leave in a hurry.
"There's still a lot of smoke, but it hasn't come to us yet," Fayol said after seeing many neighbors leave their homes overnight.
Heatwaves, floods and melting glaciers
There is growing concern about increased frequency and intensity. weather around the world.
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European Space Agency Commissioner Josef Aschbacher said there was no doubt about the impact of climate change on agriculture and other industries, with successive heatwaves, shrinking rivers and rising ground temperatures measured from space.
"It's pretty bad. We've seen extremes that have never been observed before," Ashbacher told Reuters.
ESA's Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellite series has measured 'extreme' surface temperatures of over 45°C in the UK, 50°C in France and over 60°C in Spain in recent weeks.
England and Wales "Severe heat" warning for some of
In Portugal, more than 1,500 firefighters fought a wildfire in central Covilha in his six days, burning 10,500 hectares of his land, including part of the Estrela Mountains National Park.
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In Spain, a thunderstorm caused him to cause wildfires in six areas. Hundreds of people have been evacuated from his single fire path in Caceres province.
More than 57,200 hectares have burned in France so far this year, almost six times the annual average from 2006 to 2021, according to data from the European Forest Fire Information System.
French officials said temperatures in the Gironde region reached 40 degrees Celsius on Thursday and will remain high through Saturday.
Uncontrolled wildfires in Europe leave thousands homeless, kill more than 1,000 in record heat Conditions to help firefighters fan a warning flame about an "explosive cocktail" of weather conditions due to wind and tinder boxes.
The Gironde River suffered major wildfires in his July, destroying more than 20,000 hectares of forest and temporarily displacing about 40,000 people from their homes.
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Hostens Mayor Jean-Louis Dartiailh described the past few weeks as a disaster.
"The area is utterly devastated. We are heartbroken and exhausted," he told his Radio Classique. "(This fire) is the last straw.
© 2022 Reuters
