Europe Counts Cost of Wildfire, Thousands Have to Evacuate

Bloomberg — Thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes across Europe as deadly wildfires sparked by soaring temperatures burn down swathes of woodland and threaten to destroy homes.

Fires have devastated thousands of hectares near Bordeaux, in France’s Gironde wine region, as well as across southern and western Spain. On Sunday, fires in Portugal subsided, but wildfires also devastated areas of Turkey and Greece.

With Europe in the throes of an extreme heatwave, there were 360 deaths attributable to temperature-related causes in Spain from July 10-15, according to the country’s Carlos III Health Institute. Portugal’s health authorities said on Thursday that in the July 7-13 period the country recorded excess mortality of 238 deaths as temperatures soared.

Britain is plunged into more chaos by scorching summer heatwave (2)

Meanwhile, the UK is bracing for record-breaking heat of 40° Celsius (104° Fahrenheit) on Monday as the hot weather spreads north.

Here’s some more detail on the impact of the heatwave:

• In France, emergency services have been battling two fires since Tuesday in the Gironde, a coastal region around Bordeaux, with the local prefecture saying on Sunday that some 1,200 firefighters still hadn’t managed to bring the blazes under control
  • Around 11,000 hectares of forest have been destroyed and 14,000 people evacuated from the area as the country’s meteorological office warns of new record high temperatures in the west of the country before cooler weather comes in on Tuesday
• In Spain, the near week-long heatwave continued to spark wildfires with 19 forest fires active, according to the latest July 16 bulletin from the interior ministry’s civil protection and emergencies department
  • Spanish media displayed images of Sunday’s new fire in Jerte Valley, western Caceres Province. This was after the major fires that erupted in Extremadura’s Monfrague National Park and Mijas close to Malaga.
• In Portugal, the government downgraded the gravity of the situation to one of “alert” from the more serious “contingency” level with temperatures set to fall
  • Nearly 1,400 firefighters still face blazes in North America.
  • On Friday, Portugal’s Prime Minister Antonio Costa tweeted his condolences to the family of a pilot killed when a fire-fighting aircraft crashed while battling a blaze in the north-eastern town of Torre de Moncorvo
• It has been the worst drought since decades in Italy due to heatwave.
  • Coldiretti estimates that the dry season has led to a 30% drop in harvests in the Po area. This is according to Coldiretti (an association representing the agricultural industry). The overall cost of drought-related damage to agriculture was 3 billion euros ($3.1 million).
  • In 70 years, the Po river levels are their lowest.
  • Hydroelectric power, which usually supplies 15% of the country’s needs, is down 50% so far this year

• Around 11,000 hectares of forest have been destroyed and 14,000 people evacuated from the area as the country’s meteorological office warns of new record high temperatures in the west of the country before cooler weather comes in on Tuesday

• Spanish media displayed images of Sunday’s new fire in Jerte Valley, western Caceres Province. This was after the major fires that erupted in Extremadura’s Monfrague National Park and Mijas close to Malaga.

• About 1,400 firefighters continue to face fires, mainly in the northern part of the country.
• On Friday, Portugal’s Prime Minister Antonio Costa tweeted his condolences to the family of a pilot killed when a fire-fighting aircraft crashed while battling a blaze in the north-eastern town of Torre de Moncorvo

• Coldiretti estimates that the dry season has led to a 30% drop in harvests in the Po area. This is according to Coldiretti (an association representing the agricultural industry). The overall cost of drought-related damage to agriculture was 3 billion euros ($3.1 million).
• In 70 years, the Po river levels are their lowest.
• Hydroelectric power, which usually supplies 15% of the country’s needs, is down 50% so far this year

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