Huge wildfires have been sweeping across western Europe destroying swathes of land and forcing thousands from their homes. The fires show no signs of abating amid a record-breaking heatwave.
Firefighters are battling to bring the fires in France, Spain and Portugal under control. Blistering summer temperatures are expected to continue this week.
Over 1,200 firefighters were battling to abate the fires in France's Gironde region and about 14,000 people were evacuated on Saturday afternoon. "We have a fire that will continue to spread as long as it is not stabilised," Vincent Ferrier, deputy prefect for Langon in Gironde told Reuters. Another fire south of Bordeaux has ravaged nearly 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) of land. 38 of France's 96 departments issued an 'orange' alert and urged residents in the region to be vigilant. With temperatures climbing, the heatwave in France is expected to peak on Monday. Temperatures are expected to cross 40 degrees C.
In Spain, days of temperatures of about 45 degrees C triggered fires-- which firefighters are attempting to abate. Over 3,00 people evacuated from their homes near Costa del Sol. So far, fires from Portugal have been worse. The pilot of an aerial fire-fighting plane died on Friday when his plane crashed while on an operation in the Foz Côa area, Reuters reported. So far 238 people have died due to the heat wave in Portugal between 7 and 13 July.
