French authorities have ordered nearly 4,000 more people to evacuate from Atlantic coast tourist sites because of wildfires. The orders issued Tuesday are widening what may be France’s largest peacetime evacuation. Meanwhile, the return of hot weather threatened firefighters’ fragile hold on a vast wildfire west of Bordeaux. Fire crews held the blaze in the Gironde region in check through a calm night, bringing flare-ups near coastal dunes under control and keeping the burned area unchanged at 420 square kilometers (162 square miles). Authorities called the fire stabilized, but not contained, and said it was still capable of breaking loose as temperatures rose and humidity fell.
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French President Emmanuel Macron has urged fire crews to “stay strong” as they battle to bring a monster wildfire under control, warning that the fight will take time. On a visit to a coordination center Friday for the massive firefighting effort, Macron heard how the blaze in the southwest has been wildly unpredictable, transforming at times into a self-feeding fire storm. He praised fire crews who stopped the fire’s progression after successive days of spreading flames but cautioned that the battle isn’t yet won.
A raging wildfire in southwest France has forced the evacuation of 55,000 more people overnight. This brings the total to 220,000 in one region alone, as flames have crept closer to the wine region city of Bordeaux. Authorities in the Gironde region issued evacuation orders on Sunday for five more localities southwest of the city. In Spain, authorities oversaw evacuations due to wildfires in the Valencia region. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated there and west of Madrid, the Spanish capital, this week. Gusting winds fed the flames overnight in France. Firefighters and soldiers are battling to slow the fire's progression toward Bordeaux.
AP Wire
France is using a massive cargo aircraft to dump flame retardants on a wildfire near the wine country city of Bordeaux. The fire has forced tens of thousands to evacuate, with winds threatening to push it closer to the city. French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez described the battle as “long and very difficult.” Soldiers and firefighters are working to contain the blaze, which has reached unprecedented strength. French officials slashed the length of the final stage of the Tour de France on Sunday so more police could be deployed to the wildfire zones. In Spain, wildfires have displaced over 70,000 people. High temperatures and climate change have fueled these fires, catching authorities off guard.
A small plane has crashed into a home in northern Germany, killing at least one person. Police say the crash happened Saturday in Ganderkesee in the northern state of Lower Saxony. The plane was carrying two people. One person is confirmed dead, and the other is missing. Rescue teams are searching for the missing individual. The residents of the house were not home during the crash. A crisis intervention team is on-site to support witnesses and those nearby. Authorities evacuated residents within 100 meters of the crash site. Power was temporarily cut off along the road for safety reasons.
France deploying massive cargo aircraft to dump flame retardants on wildfire, after nearly 200,000 evacuations.
AP Wire
Massive forest fires are raging out of control in southwestern France and central Spain, forcing authorities to evacuate around 200,000 people. Dozens of firefighters have been injured, but no deaths have been reported. In France, 141,000 people have fled from the Gironde and Landes departments. In Spain, 60,000 have been evacuated. The fires have consumed large areas since Wednesday, with strong winds complicating efforts to control them. Both countries have requested help from the European Union. The fires are being fueled by a heatwave, with temperatures soaring and conditions worsening.
Rescue crews are using excavators on Sunday to search the rubble for survivors of a landslide in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing that killed at least eight people and left another 34 missing. Massive amounts of rocks and soil roared down a slope and buried more than 10 residential buildings early Friday in Pengshui County on the outskirts of Chongqing. On Sunday morning, about nine rescuers were seen carrying a sealed orange bag from the scene. It was not immediately clear if a victim had been found. State broadcaster CCTV reported that all the residents staying in 21 buildings in the potential impact zone had been evacuated.
Authorities say the largest residential fire in modern Norwegian history has destroyed over 100 homes. The fire started Friday in a townhouse in Drammen and spread to nearby forests. Firefighters continued to work on controlling the blaze on Saturday. The Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection confirmed that this is the largest fire of its kind in modern times. Hundreds of people have evacuated to a center, but no residents are reported missing. The cause of the fire remains unclear. Drammen is located about 21 miles southwest of Oslo.
A strong earthquake has struck the southern Mexican Pacific coast, right on the border with Guatemala. The U.S. Geological Survey reports it had a magnitude of 7.3. The epicenter was southwest of Aquiles Serdan, near Chiapas. Authorities have not reported any severe damage or casualties. In Tapachula, the tremor began mildly but intensified, prompting evacuations. In Guatemala City, the quake frightened residents during rush hour. In Mexico City, buildings shook, but the earthquake alert did not sound. Coastal areas near Suchiate are being monitored for tsunami risk, according to local officials.