Hundreds of firefighters battled forests in France, Spain and Portugal on Sunday as temperatures soared again in heatwave-hit Europe.
The latest fires have already destroyed more than 17,000 hectares (42,000 acres) of land – twice the size of Manhattan – in all three countries with temperatures in some areas forecast to touch 40°C on Sunday.
Authorities registered thousands of extreme deaths during one of Europe’s worst heat waves in June, and with bad weather on the way, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez has already expressed concern that the annual wildfire season has started a month early.
The blaze near Spain’s northeastern Costa Brava coast has burned more than 2,200 hectares in two days and firefighters said their operation on Sunday would be “difficult” due to rising temperatures and “many smoking areas” within the blaze.
Firefighters “worked tirelessly throughout the night to consolidate the area of the La Bisbal d’Empordà forest fire, which is now calm”, said a statement from the Catalan fire service.
The president of the regional government of Catalunya Salvador Illa said that a man has been detained in connection with the fire that has badly hit the natural area of Gavarres between Barcelona and the French border.
