On Saturday, wildfires raged in southwestern France and Spain, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes as scorching summer temperatures heightened authorities’ alert in parts of Europe.
By Saturday morning, more than 12,200 people had been evacuated from France’s Gironde region as more than 1,000 firefighters battled the flames, regional authorities said in a statement.
‘We have a fire that will spread as long as it is not contained,’ said Vincent Ferrier, deputy prefect for Langon in Gironde, at a news conference.
In recent weeks, wildfires have ravaged France, as well as other European countries such as Portugal and Spain, and nearly 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) of land was on fire in the Gironde region on Saturday, up from 7,300 hectares on Friday.
On Saturday, firefighters in neighbouring Spain were battling a series of fires following days of unusually high temperatures reaching up to 45.7 degrees Celsius (114 Fahrenheit).
According to the Carlos III Health Institute, the nearly week-long heatwave has resulted in 360 heat-related deaths.
More than 3,000 people have been evacuated from their homes as a result of a large wildfire near Mijas, a town in the province of Malaga popular with northern European tourists, according to the region’s emergency services in a tweet early Saturday.
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