Wildfires grip Spain and Portugal: Hundreds of residents are evacuated as firefighters tackle...
Hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes as massive wildfires blaze across Spain and Portugal amid a heatwave gripping much of Europe which sent temperatures up to more than 40C last weekend. More than 1,100 firefighters and 14 water-carrying aircraft battled a wildfire in central Portugal's Castelo Branco area on Saturday as civil protection authorities said hot, windy conditions meant it could take days to put out. Extreme weather in July has caused havoc across the planet, with record temperatures in China, the United States and parts of southern Europe sparking fires, water shortages and a rise in heat-related hospital admissions. The increasingly extreme summers seen across the world are as a result of climate change, which is caused by human-induced global warming. The world recorded its hottest July on record this year, as global temperatures continue to spiral out of control, endangering wildlife and humans alike. Smoke from the blaze in Portugal, which has destroyed some 60 square km (23 square miles) of forest and undergrowth, reached the Fatima Sanctuary about 100 km (60 miles) away where hundreds of thousands of pilgrims gathered to see Pope Francis on Saturday. Authorities have evacuated about 100 villagers as a precaution, but Civil Defence Commander Jody Rato told reporters no casualties or damage to homes have been reported due to the fire. He said the blaze that started on Friday afternoon in a remote area would 'require some days of work' to contain as the land had plenty of combustible material. In Spain firefighters evacuated more than 130 people as they fought to control a wildfire at Portbou on the border with . The blaze ravaged some 435 hectares (1,100 acres) of land, with an estimated 2,500 hectares threatened. Local people were evacuated overnight from several villages as a precaution hours after the fire was declared to the south of Portbou, whose railway station connects with France. Around 4,000 people still in nearby villages have been left without electricity. Catalan forest rangers tweeted that an investigation was under way into the cause of the fire. In a statement on the Catalan regional government website, they added the blaze 'remains active' and that their priority was to prevent it encroaching on the nearby tourist resort of Llanca to the south. Strong winds had helped the fire to spread overnight and prevented water-bombing planes from taking off to aid a firefighting operation complicated by the hilly terrain affected. The Catalan fire service said it expected airborne operations to be able to start Saturday afternoon following helicopter reconnaissance beforehand. They added that as well as evacuating around 135 local people, several hundred more had had to spend the night confined in their villages or at campsites which at this time of year typically welcome thousands of tourists. Catalan Red Cross volunteers were aiding the rescue operation. Catalan civil protection officials said some 4,000 people were without electricity and that rail traffic had been suspended between Portbou and Figueres, some 30 kilometres (18 miles) to the south. The main road into Portbou and to the French border was also closed. Joining some 80 Catalan firefighting units were a dozen fire engines from the French side of the border. Last year, some 500 blazes laid waste to more than 300,000 hectares in Spain, a record for Europe, according to data from the European Forest Fire Information System (Effis). To date this year has seen some 70,000 hectares destroyed, according to Effis. The blaze comes just after more than 20,000 tourists and locals were forced to flee homes and seaside hotels after the blaze broke out on July 18 in central Rhodes. Fanned by strong winds, the flames spread to the eastern and southern coast, an area with many beach resorts. Tourism is the main driver of Greece's economy which emerged from a debt crisis in 2018. Rhodes, a popular holiday destination, benefits from a milder climate, giving the island a long holiday season from April through until the end of November. Wildfires in the Mediterranean are not unusual but climate change has increased their intensity. Greek authorities also said on Wednesday that 45 buildings have been damaged on the island, according to an initial assessment of the Rhodes blazes' impact. The fires killed at least five people and scorched nearly 50,000 hectares (123,500 acres) of forest and vegetation, according to estimates by the Athens Observatory. Two pilots died last Tuesday while battling a blaze in Evia, while three more bodies were recovered in fires in Evia and near the industrial zone of the port city of Volos in central Greece. The fires put pressure on Greece's conservative government, re-elected just a month ago and already battling a slew of scandals, including revelations of targeting senior politicians and journalists. The citizen's protection minister resigned his post last Friday after it emerged that he had taken a vacation as the country battled the wildfires. The fires broke amid what experts say was the longest heatwave recorded in July for decades. Temperatures reached heights of 46 degrees Celsius (114 degrees Fahrenheit) in some places, while high winds swept the fires quickly across the island. Fires have also flared in Croatia, Italy and Portugal, and blazes killed 34 in Algeria in extreme heat that has left landscapes tinder dry.