Thousands of firefighters are battling wildfires in Portugal, Spain, and southwestern France, in the grip of a heatwave that shows no sign of easing.
In northern Portugal, a pilot died when his waterbombing plane crashed in the Foz Coa area, near the Spanish border.
Fires are ravaging areas of France’s Gironde region, where more than 12,000 people have been evacuated. In southern Spain, near the Costa del Sol, about 2,300 people had to flee a wildfire spreading in the Mijas hills.
Holidaymakers on the beach in Torremolinos saw big plumes of smoke rising in the hills, where several aircraft were tackling the blaze. Ashley Baker, a Briton who lives in Mijas in southern Spain, told the BBC that the fire appeared more threatening on Friday, but since then the wind had blown it away from his area.
Planes have been dropping fire retardant substances, as helicopters shuttle to and from the coast, collecting seawater to douse the flames. There are about 40 houses in our area, everyone was really nervous and standing outside or on balconies watching it,” Mr. Baker said. Even now there are fires at the top of the mountains. It moved away from here, I’m very relieved. When you live in the hills, it’s very scary – all the road signs are giving you updates all the time about extreme fire risks.”
