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Spain, Germany battle wildfires amid unusual heat wave

Published:Sunday | June 19, 2022 | 10:26 AM
A firefighter works in front of flames during a wildfire in the Sierra de la Culebra in the Zamora Provence on Saturday, June 18, 2022. Thousands of hectares of wooded hill land in northwestern Spain have been burnt by a wildfire that forced the evacuation of hundreds of people from nearby villages. Officials said the blaze in the Sierra de Culebra mountain range started Wednesday during a dry electric storm. (Emilio Fraile/Europa Press via AP)

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Firefighters in Spain and Germany struggled to contain wildfires on Sunday amid an unusual heat wave in Western Europe for this time of year.

The worst damage in Spain has been in the northwest province of Zamora where over 25,000 hectares (61,000 acres) have been consumed, regional authorities said, while German officials said that residents of three villages near Berlin were ordered to leave their homes because of an approaching wildfire Sunday.

Spanish authorities said that after three days of high temperatures, high winds and low humidity, some respite came with dropping temperatures Sunday morning.

That allowed for about 650 firefighters supported by water-dumping aircraft to establish a perimeter around the fire that started in Zamora's Sierra de la Culebra.

Authorities warned there was still danger that an unfavourable shift in weather could revive the blaze that caused the evacuation of 18 villages.

Spain has been on alert for an outbreak of intense wildfires as the country swelters under record temperatures at many points in the country for June.

Experts link the abnormally hot period for Europe to climate change.

Thermometers have risen above 40 C (104 F) in many Spanish cities throughout the week — temperatures usually expected in August.

A lack of rainfall this year combined with gusting winds have produced the conditions for the fires.

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