PARIS — Firefighters from across Europe began arriving in France on Friday to help fight several wildfires, including a giant blaze devastating a pine forest in the southwest.
A series of heatwaves have exacerbated a severe drought across much of Europe and caused the highest wildfires. In Portugal the pine forests kept him on fire for seven days on Friday, but in the UK the unusually warm weather left him sweating in one day.
Firefighters in France’s Gironde region said little wind had limited the spread of wildfires overnight, but hot, dry weather still made conditions “unfavorable” to contain the blaze. rice field.
Fires in the Gironde region and nearby Landes have burned more than 74 square kilometers (29 square miles) since Tuesday and displaced at least 10,000 people.
More than 360 firefighters and 100 special vehicles were dispatched from Germany, Romania, Poland and Austria. He joins over 1,000 French firefighters who are already on the scene. Greece dispatched her two Canadian planes.
Sweden struggled to fight another wildfire in the Brittany region of western France that burned a patch of Pampon forest, also known as Brocéliande, from a mythical event described in the medieval legend of King Arthur. To help, we have deployed two firefighting air tractor planes.
More than 600 square kilometers (232 square miles) of forest have burned in France since the beginning of the year, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS). This is the highest year in the last ten years.
According to the European Union’s Global Watch Copernicus Program, estimated carbon emissions from wildfires in France in June, July and August were the highest since 2003, reflecting the severity of this year’s fire season. .
In Portugal, more than 1,600 firefighters, 500 vehicles and 17 aircraft fought wildfires a week ago that charred nearly 10 square kilometers (4 square miles). Much of the land that has been burned is the Estrella Mountains National Park, a protected natural area and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is sparsely populated.
The burning area is difficult for ground firefighters to reach due to high mountains and deep canyons, but two of Canada’s three Canadian Airlines water dumpers have been operating mechanically in recent days. could not be used for some reason.
Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said only one water drop plane from Spain was available as other Spanish planes were deployed to France under the European Union’s mutual aid scheme.
“Unfortunately, the wildfires are now more widespread, as opposed to when they were mainly in southern Europe,” Costa said, adding that the EU’s emergency cooperation mechanisms have been fully expanded. rice field.
Near Schierke in central Germany, hundreds of emergency workers fought a massive forest fire in the heart of the Harz National Park, German news agency dpa reported.
The UK Meteorological Service has extended extreme heat warnings for much of England and parts of Wales through the weekend. Temperatures are forecast to exceed 30 degrees Celsius (86 F), reaching 36 degrees Celsius (96.8 F) in some places, with typical cooler weather and rain next week.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said many people, especially those sensitive to heat, are expected to experience the health effects of hot weather.
