Paris (France) (AFP) – Here are the main developments related to the wildfires raging in Spain and France on Tuesday.
Spain ends some evacuation orders
Spain ended evacuation orders for 15 municipalities in two areas hit by wildfires, allowing thousands of people to go home, the interior ministry said. The measures came into force from 5:00 pm (1500 GMT) for eight places in the Madrid region and five in the neighbouring province of Avila. The ministry later announced the lifting of the evacuation order for a further two municipalities in the Madrid region from 1830 GMT. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told reporters in televised comments that the first set of measures from 1500 GMT allowed 34,000 people to return home after evacuation or to go out after being ordered to stay confined. The central government delegate to the Madrid region, Francisco Martin, added that the second set of measures announced from 1830 GMT would allow a further 4,000 to return from evacuation and 6,000 to emerge from confinement.
Sanchez says tide turning
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Tuesday firefighters were starting to see “light at the end of the tunnel” in their battle against some of the worst forest fires in the country’s history. “We are indeed turning the tide and we can begin to see light at the end of the tunnel in the fight against these fires, with every precaution, especially during the complex days and hours ahead,” he told reporters.
Some evacuees return in France
People who had to flee the French villages of Haillan, Merignac and Eysines near the southwestern city of Bordeaux because of a massive wildfire have been allowed to return home. But the authorities said they could only do so if they were prepared to leave again.
4,000 ordered off French campsites
France earlier evacuated 4,000 people from campsites west of Bordeaux as a precautionary measure ahead of what officials termed a “weather event” in the afternoon. National weather office MeteoFrance forecast a rise in temperatures inland up to 35C later on Tuesday, with ocean winds from the west that could fan the flames. Wednesday was expected to bring temperatures of 40C, with lighter, dry winds.
French fire stable
The huge fire raging in France’s southwestern Gironde region has “stabilised…meaning it is not advancing,” regional prefect Sophie Brocas told reporters. But she said officials have counted 14 blazes around it that have reignited.
Macron issues warning
French President Emmanuel Macron, on a visit late Monday to a crisis centre in Bordeaux, that is threatened by a giant wildfire, said: “The coming weeks will be tough and we have to hold out.” He said a second major fire in the Landes region further south was now “contained” but remained a threat. The fire forced the evacuation of 30,000 people but authorities said 15,000 have been allowed to return.
New Spanish heatwave
Spain’s AEMET meteorological agency officially declared a new heatwave would begin on Wednesday, lasting until the end of the week. It earlier said temperatures would soar and humidity levels would drop across Spain, causing the fire risk to “surge to very high or extreme levels across almost the entire country.” “This situation will persist, or may even worsen, in the following days,” it added. Temperatures are also predicted to rise again in France, which is battling two major fires on its Atlantic coast.
EU warns fire risk shifting
The European Union has deployed firefighting aircraft to France and Spain, but its crisis management chief told AFP that resources were stretched. “Extreme conditions are looming for Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, in addition to France, the Iberian Peninsula…where the situation is expected to worsen, including in Portugal starting today,” commissioner Hadja Lahbib said. On Tuesday, several fires broke out in northern and central Portugal, with over 1,000 firefighters and other professionals fighting the flames, supported by around 20 planes and helicopters, civil protection services said.
© 2024 AFP
