Wildfires in France, Spain, Portugal and Italy have forced thousands to flee their homes. The fires destroyed huge areas of land with strong drought and wind. And the heat keeps spreading.
France: A forest fire south of Bordeaux that had been raging for days flared up again on Sunday night. According to the newspaper Ouest-France, 10,500 hectares of land have already been devastated and 14,000 people have been brought to safety. A local resident described the conditions to the AFP agency as “post-apocalyptic. I’ve never seen anything like this.” In addition, the weather service Météo France imposed the highest red warning level for almost the entire French Atlantic coast and other western areas.
Spain: After days with temperatures of up to 45.7 degrees, there are also a number of fires here. In the south, near the Costa del Sol, more than 3000 people have been evacuated from their homes due to a large forest fire near the town of Mijas.
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Portugal: Due to numerous forest fires, the state of emergency applies. As part of the “State of Contingencia”, the third highest level of emergency, campfires may no longer be lit in the forest. A total of 39,550 hectares were devastated by forest fires from the beginning of the year to mid-June. That is more than three times the area compared to the previous year.
Italy is also heavily affected by fires. The fires at the popular seaside resort of Bibione caused a great deal of excitement. There, several tourists escaped into the sea on Friday because of the forest fires. The highest level of danger also applies in Sicily.
A video shows a car driving through one of the forest fires in Portugal:
Source: Nachrichten
