Thousands evacuated in France as wildfires blaze throughout southern Europe
Strong winds and hot weather have frustrated French firefighters' efforts to contain a huge wildfire in the Bordeaux region for a fifth straight day on Saturday, in one of several wildfires scorching Europe this week.
Some of the worst fires seen so far have been in Portugal, where the pilot of a firefighting plane died on Friday after his plane crashed while on an operation in the northeast.
It was the first fire-related fatality in Portugal this year. The blazes have injured more than 160 people this week and forced hundreds to be evacuated.
The fire season has hit parts of Europe earlier than usual this year after an unusually dry spring that has left soil parched. Authorities say climate change has played a part.
Around 11,000 people have been evacuated as the worst French fire moves closer to inhabited towns.
Images shared by firefighters show flames shooting across a mass of pine trees and black smoke stretching across the horizon.
Firefighters on Saturday have focused efforts on using fire trucks to surround villages at risk, Charles Lafourcade, a firefighter overseeing the French operation, told reporters.
Some 3,000 firefighters backed by water-dumping planes are battling the blazes in southern France, and Greece has sent firefighting equipment to help.
The regional emergency service said French firefighters managed to contain one of the worst fires overnight, near the Atlantic coast resort of Arcachon.
“Tough meteorological conditions” had thwarted efforts to contain the biggest fire in the region, which started in the town of Landiras, south of a valley of Bordeaux vineyards, authorities added. Regional prosecutors suspect arson.
The two fires have burned at least 9,650 hectares in recent days.
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