Fires ravage southern Europe and force thousands of people to abandon their homes

BarcelonaWhile Catalonia is still working on extinguishing the Gavarres fire, which has already burned more than 2,300 hectares, numerous forest fires are ravaging southern Europe this Monday and have forced thousands of people to abandon their homes. As of this morning, the fires – located mainly in France, Portugal, Greece, and Spain – have already burned a total of 19,000 hectares, which would be equivalent to almost twice the size of the city of Barcelona.The fires come after a June marked by a strong heatwave that crossed the continent, broke record highs in many places and caused thousands of deaths attributable to these extreme temperatures, especially in France. With an eye on a new heatwave predicted for this very week, Europe does not lower its guard and maintains caution against possible flare-ups of the flames.

One of the most virulent fires right now is the one devastating large areas of forest land west of Perpignan, in Northern Catalonia, which has already injured a firefighter and a local resident. Fueled by extremely warm temperatures, dry air, and strong winds, the fire has now tripled in size since Saturday night, when the first flames broke out, and has burned almost fifty square kilometers.The fire has already mobilized more than 700 firefighters and authorities have ordered the evacuation of about 10,000 inhabitants from the area, as well as the opening of several emergency shelters. A resident of the town of Trevillac, very close to ground zero, explains in a statement to Euronews the fierce pace at which the fire has advanced: “The fire reached about 300 meters from the houses. We were surprised by the speed with which it spread and it caused panic”. The French Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, has reported that forest fires have already burned twice as much land in France since the beginning of the season compared to the same period last year.The smoke generated by the flames has also clouded the planned development of the Tour de France. This Monday, the third stage of the competition is being held, in which the cyclists cross the French border after their passage through Catalonia. The last section of the route passes through roads located near the burned area, which is why the authorities have prohibited the presence of the public at these points: “The area will be limited solely to the passage of the runners and the vehicles indispensable for the organization of the race,” explained the regional prefect Pierre Regnault de la Mothe.

12,000 hectares burned in a single weekend

In northern Portugal, one of the warmest countries in Southern Europe, there is currently the largest fire, located in the Vouzela area, in the northeast of the country. Originating last Friday, the flames have burned at least 12,000 hectares in three days and have left at least nine injured, two of them seriously, according to Portuguese authorities. Around 1,200 firefighters, 400 vehicles, and about fifteen aircraft have been working to contain the fire over this weekend, in a brigade that has had the help of personnel and vehicles from Spain and Italy. On Sunday afternoon, members of the country's Civil Protection assured that they had 80% of the fire under control, although they warned that there were still "some critical points". On Sunday afternoon, a new fire broke out in the Mediterranean basin, this time in Mandra, west of Athens. The fire, burning in a pine forest, has already mobilized 150 firefighters, several volunteers, and more than twenty specialized aircraft. Also in Greece, firefighters are still fighting to extinguish a fire located in Oraiokastro, on the outskirts of Thessaloniki, the country's second-largest city. The flames have engulfed a recycling plant, generating a strong smell of burnt plastic and black clouds of toxic smoke, prompting the Hellenic authorities to order residents to shelter in place and close doors and windows.In parallel, there are also several active fires in Italy, which have already burned a total of 15 kilometers so far. The most important ones are located in the town of Cravagliana, in the Alps; in the territories of Caserta and Zapponeta, in the south of the country, and in Licata, on the island of Sicily. All this is added to other less intense fires, which are burning in various territories of the continent, such as Bosnia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Croatia, and Albania.Faced with this situation, experts relate the increase in forest fires to the climate crisis. “Climate change is here, we are suffering its consequences and it is only the beginning of July,” warned the colonel of the French fire brigade, Eric Belgioino, who emphasized the exceptional nature of the situation.