France, Spain eye wildfire reprieve as other blazes start up in Europe / Photo: Philippe Lopez - AFP
France, Spain eye wildfire reprieve as other blazes start up in Europe
France and Spain on Thursday glimpsed a reprieve from some of the worst wildfires seen in living memory, which have sent hundreds of thousands of people fleeing in recent days -- among them Hollywood star George Clooney and his wife Amal.
But other blazes have broken out in different parts of Europe as the forest fire season takes hold, including deadly ones in Greece, as well as in Portugal and Turkey.
The unusual intensity of some of the fires underlines the increasing risk the continent faces as climate change parches vegetation and makes the emergencies more extreme, scientists say.
- France: 'tipping point' -
French firefighters -- who for more than a week have battled a massive wildfire west of Bordeaux which forced the evacuation of 220,000 people -- were "reasonably optimistic" the blaze was no longer progressing, their service said.
Light morning rain boosted that outlook, though firefighters remained wary given previous flare-ups from smouldering embers in the devastated land, covering a bigger area than the island of Malta.
"We've just reached a new threshold, a kind of tipping point," firefighting chief Marc Vermeulen said. Hotspots in the wildfire zone had dropped from six to three since the morning, he added.
The wildfire has destroyed more than 200 homes and 42,000 hectares (104,000 acres) and killed two firemen who perished in their truck last week, trapped when the flames started spreading.
"It's the start of the end of the fire -- but the start of the crisis," said Nina Rosazza, who runs a metal factory in the Arcachon basin near Bordeaux.
"In terms of tourism, the environment, and visually this is a long-term catastrophe," she added.
Smaller fires were affecting other parts of southern France, including one in Brignoles Wednesday that forced Clooney, his wife Amal and their nine-year-old twins to flee their estate.
"We have no idea whether our beautiful home makes it through this terrible moment," the couple said in a letter to the mayor of Brignoles quoted by People magazine.
They added that they were "part of this community" and pledged to "be part of making it whole" again.
- Spain: state of emergency lifted -
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez lifted a state of emergency over a wildfire threatening areas near Madrid, after the prefect's office said there were no longer any "active fronts".
More than 60,000 people had been evacuated during the worst of the fires, but by Thursday most had been allowed to return home.
In the adjoining Avila region a little further west, another inferno raging since last week has become the biggest since Spain's records began in 1961, burning 50,000 hectares.
Spain is experiencing a new heatwave this week, which officials warned could reignite fires in the Madrid region.
Near Spain's border with Portugal, a new fire broke out on Wednesday in Fermoselle, forcing the evacuation of more than 600 people, emergency services said.
- Greece: 'difficult days' -
Three firemen have died in Greece battling blazes there: two of them on the island of Crete who became trapped when winds changed, and the other near Gythelo on the mainland, who collapsed while fighting the fires there.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned of "difficult days" ahead as the summer heat persists and Greece's usual forest fire season comes into force.
The fires in southwest Crete, which broke out overnight, forced the evacuation of 8,000 people as it threatened the village resort of Agia Galini. Three hundred firefighters were battling two blazes.
The fire is believed to have burned homes and farm animals, but the toll was as yet unclear, said the village's mayor, Maria Lioni.
Daniela Schmidt, an Austrian tourist, told AFP by phone she was "quite scared" as she saw wildfires sweep parts of the island overnight. She and her family, unable to return to their hotel, were evacuated from an island spot in their bathing suits.
- Portugal: 800 firemen deployed -
In northern Portugal, in Valpacos, nearly 800 firemen were battling a forest fire that was spreading, the civil protection service said.
Five people have been lightly injured, including three firemen and a police officer, it said.
- Turkey: fires near tourist areas -
Firefighters in Turkey were battling forest fires near the popular tourist regions of Antalya and the Dardanelles.
Agriculture Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said all but five of 110 fires sparked across the country were under control.
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T.McGilberry--NG
