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France, Spain Battle Massive Wildfires Amid Heatwave Fears
🇱🇹 Lithuania /Disasters & Emergencies

France, Spain Battle Massive Wildfires Amid Heatwave Fears

From Delfi · () Lithuanian

Translated from Lithuanian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • France and Spain are battling massive wildfires, with a new heatwave expected in southwestern France.
  • Over 325,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes in southwestern France and central Spain.
  • French President Emmanuel Macron will hold an emergency cabinet meeting, while Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will visit affected areas.

Firefighters in France and Spain are continuing to battle enormous wildfires on Monday, as a new heatwave is forecast for southwestern France, threatening to worsen the crisis. More than 325,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes due to some of the largest wildfires in the countries' histories, raging in southwestern France and central Spain near Madrid.

It's a David against Goliath fight... at some point we will find a weak spot and strike there.

— Eric BrocardiDescribing the challenge of fighting the massive wildfire in France.

The wildfire in France, one of the country's largest since World War II, has generated an unprecedented "pyrocumulonimbus" – a massive cloud of fire that creates its own winds and sparks further fires, according to the French National Firefighters Federation (FNSPF). "It's a David against Goliath fight... at some point we will find a weak spot and strike there," said FNSPF spokesperson Eric Brocardi.

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to hold an extraordinary cabinet meeting on Monday morning to discuss the extreme situation. Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will visit fire-ravaged areas in Valencia, eastern Spain, where firefighters are battling a new blaze that has forced 15,000 people to evacuate. On Sunday, while visiting the fire zone in Avila province, west of Madrid, he warned, "Difficult hours await us."

Difficult hours await us.

— Pedro SanchezWarning about the ongoing wildfire situation in Spain.

Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska stated Sunday evening that the fires were spreading, but slowly. Earlier on Sunday, Civil Protection Director Virginia Barcones described the fire around Avila as a "monster." "We are dealing with a 280 km perimeter covering 77,000 hectares," Barcones told state television TVE regarding the wildfire. In France, the prefect of the southwestern Gironde region, the most affected area, urged tourists to avoid the region and seek "alternative destinations." Approximately 220,000 people have been evacuated in this region, and 45 campsites have been forced to close, disrupting holiday plans for about 40,000 people.

We are dealing with a 280 km perimeter covering 77,000 hectares.

— Virginia BarconesDescribing the scale of the wildfire in Avila province, Spain.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Delfi in Lithuanian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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