Firefighters in France and Spain yesterday rushed to contain the worst wildfires in living memory, seizing crucial hours before the arrival of another heatwave brings scorching temperatures.
Flames have torn through vast swathes of forest in both countries, incinerating properties and forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people. Moreover, with a fresh heatwave expected to hit western Europe this week — with oven-like temperatures returning in France from yesterday and Spain from today according to meteorologists — firefighters are racing against time to bring the infernos under control.
French firefighters were “on the offensive,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Eric Pitault, senior commander and communications officer for the Gironde fire department, as he stood in the middle of a 50m-wide, 25km-long firebreak cut with the help of civilian volunteers on the Cap Ferret peninsula, though he admitted his teams were tired.
Photo: Reuters
Over the past six days, the wildfire near Bordeaux has affected 42,000 hectares, forced 220,000 people to flee and destroyed 240 houses.
The prefect’s office said that while there had been flare-ups overnight in the north of the peninsula, these were under control and the burnt area had not increased.
Outside Spain’s Aldea del Fresno, on the edge of the vast fires burning west of Madrid, evacuated locals lined up in their cars in the hope of returning to properties and pets.
Photo: AFP
They were among 60,000 people forced to flee by fires that have consumed 77,000 hectares, an area almost the size of New York City. For now, though, the Guardia Civil were blocking their return, blaming the risk of smoke inhalation.
Galia Borisova, a 55-year-old domestic helper wanted to reach her animals in nearby Picadas but was having to wait.
“They say there’s so much smoke that you can’t breathe, even with a mask. And I believe it, because you could see it from here,” she said.
Europe has been gripped by successive heatwaves and a major drought this year, which scientists have attributed to human-caused climate change. Extreme heat has parched the ground and dried out vegetation that had grown vigorously during wet and mild weather earlier in the year, creating tinderbox conditions.
The leaders of France and Spain warned of the new reality that climate change has created.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called the fires “the most painful expression of a climate emergency,” while French President Emmanuel Macron said: “The coming weeks will be tough and we have to hold out.”
While the focus is currently on Western Europe, the EU’s crisis management chief warned that conditions elsewhere on the continent could spark new fires, stretching already strained resources.
“Extreme conditions are looming for Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, in addition to France, the Iberian Peninsula ... where the situation is expected to worsen, including in Portugal starting today,” European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib said.
Spain’s meteorological agency AEMET announced a new heatwave starting today and lasting until at least the end of the week, with temperatures forecast to hit 42°C in the northeast and 39°C in the center.
MeteoFrance also forecast more hot weather of up to 40°C from Tuesday with dry wind.
Spanish Minister of the Interior Fernando Grande-Marlaska on Monday said the coming hours would be “absolutely decisive” to tame fires burning west of the capital, Madrid.
Several major food brands in Australia are selling tomato products grown in China as domestically produced, with forensic testing showing some are sourced from the Xinjiang region, an investigation by the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) said. Supermarket chains Coles Group Ltd and budget competitor Aldi — along with widely sold brand Leggo’s — were found to be selling tomato products that independent scientific testing found had originated in China, it said. The products were labeled as being sourced from Australia or Italy, it said. The testing was commissioned by the ABC’s Four Corners and conducted by forensic laboratory Source Certain, which the broadcaster
IGNORING REPORTERS: The Russian envoy had little to say other than ‘nice hairstyle’ after the meeting, in which Rubio said he planned to address the conflict in Ukraine US Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday met with Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov in the Philippines for talks at which he was expected to renew the prospect of the US brokering an end to the war in Ukraine. The US Department of State offered few details about the meeting on the sidelines of an annual gathering of ASEAN foreign ministers in Manila. “They discussed the US-Russia relationship and the need to end the Russia-Ukraine war,” a state department spokesperson said in a statement. Russia did not immediately offer a readout and Lavrov largely ignored questions by reporters after he left
‘I’LL TAKE YOU DOWN’: Observers said there have been tensions between Ibrahim Traore and Oumarou Yabre, while the third-in-command has not been seen recently Ibrahim Traore, the head of Burkina Faso’s military junta, last week sought to stamp out speculation of a power struggle at the highest levels of government, warning that he intended to remain the west African country’s only leader. The prolonged absence of two influential junta figures has fueled rumors of a tussle within the military government, which came to power in a coup in September 2022. “There can’t be two captains on one ship,” Traore told community leaders in Ouahigouya on Thursday. “Everyone who works with me knows how I operate,” the 38-year-old captain said. “If anyone screws up, I’ll take you down
Japanese mystery fiction author Keigo Higashino has died aged 68, his publisher said on Monday, triggering an outpouring of grief among fans across Asia. Since his 1985 debut, Higashino wrote more than 100 books, with his works translated and published in over 40 countries and territories, and widely adapted for film and television. "Author Keigo Higashino passed away due to colon cancer in the early morning of July 23. He was 68," publisher Kodansha said in a statement. A statement posted on Higashino's X account said that the author's "published works, from his debut novel 'After School', released in September
RSS