France Battles Wildfires As Heat Wave Intensifies
Over 10,000 people evacuated from French Pyrenees towns as wildfires fueled by a months-long heatwave scorched nearly 29,000 hectares of forest in southern France. The EU is deploying aircraft from Cyprus and Sweden to help suppress the bla
France is grappling with severe wildfires exacerbated by a relentless heatwave. On July 7, BBC reported that French local authorities ordered the evacuation of more than 10,000 people from more than a dozen towns and villages in the foothills of the French Pyrenees near the Spanish border. The evacuation followed a wildfire that erupted in Trévillach, Pyrénées-Orientales in southern France, which has spread to burn over 28,750 hectares of forest.
Concerns are deepening that conditions will deteriorate further as France continues battling the effects of an ongoing heatwave since late May, with temperatures still reaching 40 degrees Celsius.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the European Union will deploy four aircraft based in Cyprus and Sweden to assist in emergency wildfire suppression efforts.
Meanwhile, the fires have also impacted Spain, burning more than 13,750 hectares in the Les Gavarres natural reserve in Catalonia in northeastern Spain. Additionally, authorities in Castellón province to the east are hastening the evacuation of approximately 500 people after wildfires spread into Sierra de Espadán National Park.
