Paris, Europe Brief News – Firefighters from across Europe have joined their French counterparts to help battle several wildfires.
Parts of the Gironde region have been turned into a smouldering wasteland as blazes there and in the neighbouring Landes have ravaged pine forests.
An area of more than 74 square kilometres has burned since Tuesday, leading to the evacuation of at least 10,000 people.
More than 360 firefighters and specialised vehicles have arrived from Germany, Romania, Poland, and Austria., joining forces with over 1,000 French firefighters who were already on site.
The German team has been working with local teams since Friday morning.
President Emmanuel Macron announced that Austria, Germany, Greece, Poland and Romania “are coming to aid” France in battling the blaze. “European solidarity at work!” he tweeted.
This summer, France and a number of other European countries have seen a wave of deadly wildfires, triggered by record temperatures and droughts across the continent.
More than 1,000 deaths have been attributed to the heat in Portugal and Spain.
In the UK, an amber extreme heat warning has now come into force, with temperatures forecast to hit 37C (99F) in some areas over the next four days. The heatwave will probably affect health, transport and working conditions, the authorities warn.
