BORDEAUX: Firefighters raced on Tuesday to subdue huge wildfires that have forced unprecedented evacuations of tens of thousands of people across France and Spain, as Western Europe braced for another heatwave. The fires have torn through a region already battered by a blisteringly hot and dry summer. Crews were seeking to capitalise on more favourable weather before a new wave of higher temperatures settled in from Wednesday.
In the Bordeaux region of France, firefighters contained the forest blaze overnight, while in Spain, authorities allowed most people in the central Toledo province to return to their homes, lifting a state of emergency introduced on July 23. Fires still raged in the Madrid region nearby. "We are starting to see the end of the tunnel in the fight against these fires," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told reporters.
Europe, the world's fastest warming continent, has endured record-breaking heatwaves this year. Scientists say human-driven climate change is intensifying the heat and drought that allow wildfires to spread faster, burn longer and become more destructive.
In France, the mood was sombre as fires ravaged the Cap Ferret peninsula on the Atlantic coast, a popular tourist destination, and spread through areas surrounding Bordeaux in previous days. President Emmanuel Macron called the wildfire crisis possibly the most severe the country had faced since World War 2.
Spain was bracing for its fourth heatwave of the summer from Wednesday with the risk of fire expected to reach extreme levels due to heat, southerly winds and low humidity. Firefighters are still battling fires in the region of Madrid and neighbouring province of Avila. As of Tuesday, Spain had more than 73,000 evacuees and roughly 66,000 people under confinement.
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