Residents in Spain, who were compelled to escape some of the most devastating wildfires in recent memory, began making their way back home on Wednesday. Meanwhile, in France, thousands more were ordered to evacuate due to concerns that an impending heatwave could hinder efforts to control fires ravaging the nation’s southwest.
Expansive areas of dry forests, scorched land and destroyed properties have severely impacted areas west of Madrid, as well as the Gironde and Landes regions in France, resulting in the evacuation of tens of thousands who sought refuge.
In a rare moment of relief, Spain’s interior ministry announced on Tuesday afternoon that evacuation orders had been lifted for 13 municipalities.
Journalists from the Agence France-Presse (AFP) who visited the village of Navas del Rey, observed charred debris, ashes, and burnt vehicles, evidence of the destructive fires.
According to preliminary figures shared with AFP by local authorities, approximately 50 homes were completely destroyed by the fires, with another 50 sustaining damage.
Maria Paz Bolanos, 62, returned with her family to their home and garden in a housing development in the town — and found it only slightly scorched.
“We’ve been here 50 years,” she said. “It must have been grandfather, my father in heaven. He somehow made it so the fire just came in through and stopped right there.
“It’s a miracle.”
The mayor of nearby Pelayos de la Presa, Antonio Sin, described the scene as “a war zone”.
“It has been a horrendous fire, a brutal one — it’s a monster that has run over us,” he told AFP.
In contrast, Marielle Mourgeon was among 4,000 people forced to cut short holidays in the French seaside village of Lacanau, in the Gironde area near Bordeaux, after camping sites were told to evacuate as a precaution.
“At first I thought my husband was joking, with the blue sky and the fires dying down,” she said.
‘Turning the tide’
Over the past six days, the largest French wildfire since 1949 has raged west of Bordeaux, forcing more than 220,000 people to flee, destroying 240 houses and prompting questions about emergency preparedness.
Sophie Brocas, the government’s top official in Gironde, told reporters the fire had “stabilised… meaning it is not advancing”, and authorised nearly 60,000 people evacuated from three villages around the city to return.
But she said 14 blazes around it had reignited.
South of Lege Cap Ferret on the Atlantic coast, volunteers have been working round the clock to help firefighters restock with water to tackle a wave of fires.
“We pour 8,000 litres on an area, and an hour later it starts up again,” said one volunteer, Pierre Marie, after a 12-hour day.
“We fear every day that passes.”
The French government will hold a meeting on Thursday to address businesses’ “concerns,” Industry Minister Sebastien Martin said. The ministry estimates that around 130,000 employees are unable to work due to the fires.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez declared that Spain was “turning the tide and we can begin to see light at the end of the tunnel in the fight against these fires”.
Fernando Casado, mayor of Robledo de Chavela, a village at the northern edge of the flames, was more cautious, calling the fire “a sleeping kitten” at night but “a mighty lion” during the day.
Some 60,000 people were forced to flee the Spanish fires, which have consumed 77,000 hectares — an area almost the size of New York City, and larger than the entirety of Singapore.
Extreme conditions
Europe has been gripped by successive heatwaves and a major drought this year, which scientists have attributed to human-caused climate change.
Extreme heat has parched vegetation that had grown vigorously during wet weather earlier in the year, creating tinderbox conditions.
United Nations climate chief Simon Stiell said “the climate alarm is blaring from every direction” and called for a quick end to the use of fossil fuels.
The focus is currently on western Europe, but the European Union’s head of crisis management warned extreme heat could also trigger new fires in central Europe.
Spain’s meteorological agency AEMET announced a new heatwave starting on Wednesday and lasting until at least the end of the week, with temperatures forecast to hit 42C in the northeast and 39C in the centre.
French weather agency MeteoFrance forecast more hot weather in France from Tuesday, with dry wind.
Near the southwestern French surfing hotspot of Le Grand Crohot, an AFP reporter saw violent gusts of wind whipping up flames as firefighting aircraft attempted to extinguish a rekindled fire.
Firefighting commander Matthieu Jomain warned that the conditions were similar to those when the fire started.
“We’re not out of danger,” added Michael Elicegui, who returned to his home in Biscarrosse in the Landes.