Europe wildfires: Spain lets people return, France faces extreme heat
Spain lifted evacuations for Avila province, a day after doing so in parts of the Madrid area. To the north in France, temperatures rose again
Spain lifted evacuations for Avila province, a day after doing so in parts of the Madrid area. To the north in France, temperatures rose again, with extreme heat warnings in much of the country, including Gironde. As Spain battled its largest wildfire on record and France struggled to contain a blaze four times the size of Paris, scientists warned that extreme wildfires were becoming more frequent worldwide. Europe wildfires continue as new heatwaves hit France, Spain To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Evacuees allowed to return in Spain Spain started lifting evacuation orders for various places in the Avila province on Wednesday, having taken similar steps in the Madrid province on Tuesday. Interior Minister Francisco Martin Aguirre announced progressively reduced restrictions for a variety of places after conditions overnight allowed firefighters to make gains, saying tens of thousands had been able to return home. Sanchez: 'Next 12 hours will be very important' "Today, I believe we are closer to that final objective" of "defeating the fire," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told reporters in televised comments at a command center in the town of Navalarnero near the fire zone.
"Things are progressing favorably, with the greatest of caution," he said, predicting that "the next 12 hours will be very imporant — they will be decisive for consolidating the work that has been done." For a week, Spain has been fighting two large fires that had at times come close to merging into a single blaze in wooded hills west of Madrid. However, authorities remain on alert, with highs consistently above 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) forecast every day in the Madrid area this week. Spain's meteorological agency AEMET warned of a new stretch of high temperatures starting on Wednesday Image: Cordon Press/picture alliance Heat warnings across most of France, including fire flashpoint Gironde On France's southwestern Atlantic coast, temperatures and winds picked up once more on Wednesday, threatening to fan the flames. Temperature warnings were in place for most of the country, with the most severe on the eastern border and in the southwestern areas hardest hit by fires, including the Gironde region. The Meteo France weather service forecast highs of 40 Celsius in the Bordeaux area in the afternoon.
Thousands of French firefighters, with support from elsewhere in Europe, are trying to control the fires in Gironde Image: Mohamad Salaheldin Abdelghani Alsayed/Anadolu/picture alliance French authorities have been forced to relocate around 220,000 people in total amid the fires, many of them from holiday resorts on the coast — like Lacanau and Grand Cohot on Tuesday. More than 2,200 firefighters and over 20 aircraft remained mobilized, backed by crews from across France and European partners. "We strike quickly and strike hard at any new smoke emissions," Gironde fire commander Matthieu Jomain said. The Gironde wildfire has burned an area four times the size of Paris, and resisted the firefighting efforts of a dozen countries. While new fires were reported in France's Gironde, authorities in Landes said the advance of the wildfires had stopped Image: Jeanne Accorsini/SIPA/picture alliance Climate change exacerbating wildfires Scientists say climate change is fueling hotter, drier summers that are intensifying wildfires across Europe. The warmer temperatures are also extending fire seasons and making these blazes harder to control, straining the resources of European nations.
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