Hundreds of firefighters battled fresh flare-ups near the village of Blagon in southwestern France on Tuesday evening, as crews worked to contain wildfires that have repeatedly reignited in dry woodland.
Here’s what we’re following:In France: Fire crews battled a mega-fire four times the size of Paris while facing tinderbox temperatures forecast to climb above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday. The heat wave and forecast winds could hamper progress against the blaze that has forced 220,000 people from their homes, authorities for the Gironde region around Bordeaux said.In Spain: Spain is bracing for its fourth heat wave of the summer, with several blazes still burning out of control, including the largest in its recorded history. Even so, Spanish authorities began lifting evacuation and stay-at-home orders for thousands of people after firefighters made progress.Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, heating at more than twice the global average, according to the European Union’s Copernicus climate service. Western Europe recorded its hottest June on record, with extreme heat and widespread dryness contributing to the spread and intensification of fires in France and Spain, Copernicus said.
