Southern Europe in Flames: Heatwave and Wildfires Force Mass Evacuations
Wildfires are raging across Portugal, Spain, France, and Greece, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes as temperatures soar once again. The blazes come after a record-breaking June heatwave that scientists say would have been 'virtually impossible' without climate change.
In southwestern France, near Perpignan, more than 700 firefighters backed by special aircraft are battling a 'gigantic' blaze in a remote area. Over 10,000 residents have been evacuated. The fire has nearly tripled in size since Sunday, devouring 46 square kilometres of land and injuring a firefighter and a resident.
'The fire came within 300 metres of the houses. We were taken aback by how fast it spread, it was staggering, bordering on panic,' said Patrice, a 53-year-old resident of the village of Trevillach, who did not wish to give his surname.
Charlotte Pignol, 30, was among the first to be evacuated from her home early on Sunday. 'We started seeing smoke around 10:30 pm, then it kept coming closer and closer. Someone from the town hall knocked on our door around 1:00 am to tell us to leave,' she said.
The World Weather Attribution group, a team of scientists, said the June heatwave would have been 'virtually impossible' without climate change. Thousands of excess deaths were recorded during that period.
French fire service Colonel Eric Belgioino warned: 'Climate change is here, we are living the consequences and it is only the start of July. The season is going to be long for the soldiers fighting fires. You have to help us.'
In Greece, flames set off by a forest fire tore through two factories in Thessaloniki, forcing evacuations and warnings for households to keep windows closed due to toxic smoke. In Spain, a fire near the Costa Brava coast burned more than 2,200 hectares in two days, with rising temperatures complicating firefighting efforts. In Portugal, emergency services said they had controlled 80 percent of a wildfire that devastated some 13,000 hectares of forest and scrub land in the north.
Major fires also destroyed hundreds of hectares on the Croatian island of Hvar and in Albania. Regions across Portugal, Spain, and southern France have stepped up heat alerts for the coming days.
The Tour de France cycling race has been affected. Officials announced that Monday's third stage through the Pyrenees would take place without spectators. 'The public is asked not to go near the route or to the finish area,' said regional prefect Pierre Regnault de la Mothe. 'In other words, and I regret having to say this, it will be, in France at least, a stage of the Tour de France without spectators.'
As the mercury rises again, authorities express alarm that the annual summer wildfire season has started a month early. The latest heatwave is expected to move north and could last until next weekend.