Firefighters across Europe are struggling to contain multiple wildfires as a record-breaking heatwave bakes the continent. The historic temperatures are linked to human-caused climate change and are hitting countries more used to long cold seasons and ill-equipped for this sort of heat, with limited air conditioning.
France Battles Multiple Fires
In France, a new fire is racing through woodlands overnight in the Landes region on the southwest coast, forcing over 500 people to evacuate their homes. This is one of several fires scorching forests around France this week, including in normally cooler and wetter regions in the north and Brittany.
A historic fire devoured forests near Bordeaux last month, pushing a quarter of a million people from their homes. France has also shut down six nuclear reactors in recent days due to extreme heat and drought, as well as a mass of jellyfish washing up outside one power plant on the English Channel coast.
UK Wildfires
In the central English town of Stourbridge, a huge blaze started Thursday, consuming houses and leaving many without roofs as flames burned inside the charred walls. About 20 to 30 homes were completely destroyed, according to Stourbridge lawmaker Cat Eccles.
Nineteen people and six firefighters were hospitalized for smoke inhalation and other injuries from multiple wildfires in the West Midlands region. In nearby Stoke-on-Trent, a 23-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman were arrested Friday on suspicion of arson over a large grass fire that spread quickly.
Other European Countries Affected
Spain has been battling wildfires, with authorities transferring the remains of three 11th-century kings from a monastery in the northeastern Aragón region near an active wildfire. In Germany, all 1,800 residents of the village of Gey were evacuated after a wildfire threatened to reach their homes. In Croatia, one person was killed and 14 people were hospitalized from a fire that raged overnight by the coastal town of Omis.
Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.
