Spain and France battle raging wildfires, face high risk of more

What the report says

Al Jazeera, citing Reuters and The Associated Press, reports that Spain and France are battling major wildfires while forecasters warn that conditions remain dangerous across parts of Europe. Spain’s AEMET weather agency said Wednesday that fire danger was at “very high or extreme” levels across much of the mainland and the Balearic Islands, with dry thunderstorms, Saharan dust and a continuing heatwave adding to the risk.

In central Spain, firefighters are trying to control a blaze in rural Guadalajara, about 100km north of Madrid, that has burned more than 32,000 hectares, making it one of Spain’s largest recorded wildfires. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the affected area in Tamajón and called for a cross-party pact on climate change, linking worsening fire seasons to rising climate risks. The Guadalajara fire follows a separate deadly blaze in southern Spain less than two weeks earlier that killed 13 people, including several foreigners, according to the report.

France is also facing active fires. Authorities said a blaze in the southeastern Var region had burned 2,500 hectares, damaged dozens of homes and forced 400 residents to leave. Lighter winds and lower temperatures helped crews, but officials said the fire was not yet contained. The regional prefect banned barbecues and asked towns to cancel summer fireworks plans, while another fire was reported in the Hautes-Alpes.

The report places the fires within a broader European heat emergency. Al Jazeera notes that Europe has already burned more land this year than the recent two-decade annual average, and that Italy, Greece and Cyprus have imposed alerts or work restrictions as temperatures hover around or above 40C in several areas.