several countries of Europe they keep fighting against massive forest firessome of them out of control, and taking action in the face of the inclement heat wave that affects those territories in recent days, according to international media reports.
In France Four firefighters were slightly injured in the fires in the Gironde department, in the south-west of the country, where the flames had already destroyed more than 10,000 hectares of forest and forced the evacuation of more than 14,000 people, according to a note from the Euronews portal.
Until then, no fatalities had been recorded, and more than 1,200 firefighters were still working to try to contain these fires, supported from the air by two Canadair-type seaplanes and two Dash water bombers, the information added.
Press releases indicate that the south of France has been experiencing a heat wave for several days that is spreading to the north, forcing the country’s authorities to decree an orange alert due to the heat wave in several regions.
Fires, deaths, records… the heat wave that is hitting Europe threatens to last a couple of days https://t.co/WfPn5Wsrpk (dz)
— DW Spanish (@dw_espanol) July 18, 2022
While, Portugal It also fights fires and has managed to control the largest sources of fire, but it is studying whether it will maintain the restrictions of the state of contingency.
Although the high temperatures have dropped – after reaching records of up to 47 degrees in recent days – the wind and the drought leave “still extreme conditions” at risk, admitted Commander André Fernandes, of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority. (ANPEC).
The authorities of that nation are investigating the accident that cost the life of a pilot who was working to extinguish the fires caused by the heat wave that during the last week has also left a worrying excess mortality in the country: 238 deaths over the usual average in this period.
In turn, in Spain firefighters try to control fires that threaten populations and natural spaces such as the Monfragüe National Park, of great ecological value. The flames forced the evacuation of a couple of towns in the western province of Cáceres, with more than four hundred evacuees.
Another of the most worrying fires is the one that began on Friday in the Sierra de Mijas, in the Andalusian province of Malaga, which affects a perimeter of 1,890 hectares and keeps 2,765 people evicted from their homes, since 300 of the 3,065 who were evacuated were able to return to their homes.
In Galicia, at least 4,300 hectares have burned in thirteen fires, of which three put several population centers at risk.
In accordance with the newspaper The country it is the worst summer in 15 years in this sense. Since January, almost 140,000 hectares have been burned, almost seven times more than the historical average, while the number of fires so far this year already exceeds 300, according to the publication.
As for the victims of the heat wave, the death toll between July 10 and 16 was 510, according to statistics quoted by The countrywhich places the deaths at 150 last Saturday as a result of high temperatures.
In this scorching summer of 2022, the European Union (EU) records a record number of fires. From January 1 to July 16, a total of 346,000 hectares of forested areas burned in the Member States.
The country most affected so far is Romania, with 149,000 hectares that have gone up in smoke since the beginning of the year, with more than 700 fires.
