As Spain battled its largest wildfire on record and France carried out one of Europe’s biggest evacuations since World War II, scientists warned that extreme wildfires are becoming more frequent worldwide.
On Tuesday, French authorities evacuated another 4,000 people from Atlantic coast resorts adding to the 220,000 other people fleeing a blazing wildfire in southwest France.
Fresh fires broke out near the Atlantic resort of Grand Crohot west of Bordeaux, prompting authorities to deploy 23 planes and helicopters to contain the flames.
“The situation remains complicated. We’re not out of the woods,” said Sophie Brocas, the top government official in the coastal region of Gironde, where Grand Crohot and Bordeaux are located.
The Gironde wildfire has burned an area four times the size of Paris, and resisted the firefighting efforts of a dozen countries.
Evacuees allowed to return in Spain
In Spain, there was a respite for the evacuees as thousands of residents were allowed to return home after firefighters managed to contain major blazes.
However, authorities remained on alert for a fourth summer heatwave with temperatures expected to exceed 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday.
The biggest concern for firefighters in Spain was two large fires that had at times come close to merging into a single blaze in wooded hills to the west of Madrid.
In Avila, to the northwest of Madrid, a pyrocumulonimbus cloud was seen over the blaze. Scientists describe these clouds as fire-generated thunderstorms forming over intense heat sources like wildfires or volcanic eruptions.
“We are feeling a lot of anger and helplessness. It’s something inhuman,” 48-year-old gardener David Gonzalez said about the destruction caused by the fires in Avila.
Experts fear that incoming heat waves might cause the blazing fires to worsen.
Climate change exacerbating wildfires
Scientists say climate change is fueling hotter, drier summers that are intensifying wildfires across Europe. The warmer temperatures are also extending fire seasons and making these blazes harder to control, straining the resources of European nations.
Currently, the European Union only coordinates the deployment of extra resources pooled from its member states when a country requests emergency help. As fires on the continent grow more extreme, however, the bloc called for greater investment in forest management and wildfire prevention.
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Brussels is purchasing its own permanent firefighting fleet.
“Climate change is accelerating. So, our response must evolve just as quickly,” Hadja Lahbib, the EU’s Crisis Management Commissioner, told Reuters.
Edited by: Darko Janjevic
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