Extract from ABC News
Strong winds and hot, dry weather are frustrating French firefighters' efforts to contain a huge wildfire that has raced across pine forests in the Bordeaux region for a fifth straight day, one of several scorching Europe in recent days.
Key points:
The pilot of a firefighting plane dies after his plane crashes during an operation in north-east Portugal
More than 11,000 people are evacuated from villages and campgrounds in southern France
- Thousands of firefighters in Portugal and France are called into action with Europe engulfed by a severe heatwave
Among the worst fires have been in Portugal, where the pilot of a firefighting plane died on Friday when his plane crashed while on an operation in the north-east.
It was the first fatality in fires in Portugal so far this year, which have injured more than 160 people and forced hundreds to be evacuated from towns this week.
Fire season has hit parts of Europe earlier than usual this year after an unusually dry, hot spring that authorities attribute to climate change.
Some 3,000 firefighters backed by water-dumping planes are battling blazes in southern France, President Emmanuel Macron said, with Greece sending firefighting equipment to help.
More than 11,000 people have been evacuated from villages and campgrounds.
Firefighters managed to contain one of the worst fires overnight, near the Atlantic coast resort of Arcachon which is popular with tourists from around Europe, the regional emergency service said.
Fire trucks surround villages in attempt to save homes
But it said "tough meteorological conditions" thwarted efforts to contain the biggest fire in the region, which started in the town of Landiras, south of a valley of Bordeaux vineyards.
They are focusing efforts on using fire trucks to surround villages at risk and save as many homes as possible, said Charles Lafourcade, overseeing the firefighting operation.
The two fires have burned at least 9,650 hectares of land in recent days.
A similar scene is playing out in Portugal, where more than 3,000 firefighters battled alongside ordinary Portuguese citizens desperate to save their homes from several wildfires that raged across the country, fanned by extreme temperatures and drought conditions.
The country's Civil Protection Agency said 10 fires were still raging over the weekend.
Portuguese state television RTP reported that the area burned this year had already exceeded the total for 2021. More than 30,000 hectares of land have been burned, it said, mostly in the past week.
Across the border, Spain was struggling to contain several fires, including two that have burned about 7,400 hectares of land.
In southern Andalusia, some 3,000 people were evacuated from villages in danger from a blaze that started near the village of Mijas in the province of Malaga.
Around 200 firefighters supported by 18 aircraft tried to contain the fire. Authorities were investigating its cause.
For a sixth day, firefighters were also trying to bring under control a fire started by a lightning strike in the west-central Las Hurdes area.
Some 400 people from eight villages were evacuated on Friday as flames approached their houses and threatened to spread into the nearby Monfrague National Park.
Croatia and Hungary have also fought wildfires this week, as have California and Morocco. Many European countries are facing exceptional heat this month also attributed to climate change.
Portuguese authorities said a July national high of 47 degrees Celsius was registered in the northern town of Pinhao on Wednesday.
AP
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