PARIS (AP) — Firefighters across Europe battled multiple fires Friday as a new unprecedented heat wave swept across a swath of the continent, their task made even more complicated by exceptionally arid landscapes. The record temperatures are linked to human-caused climate change and are affecting countries more accustomed to long cold seasons and ill-equipped for this type of heat, with limited air conditioning. More evacuations in France as fire affects more regions As France experiences the driest year in its history, a new fire devastated forests overnight in the Landes region on the southwest coast. The fire forced more than 500 people to evacuate their homes in the city of Luglon as hundreds of firefighters were deployed to the area, the regional administration said on Friday. It is one of several fires scorching forests across France this week, including normally colder and wetter regions in the north and Brittany. A historic fire devoured forests near Bordeaux last month and forced a quarter of a million people from their homes. France has also shut down six nuclear reactors in recent days due to extreme heat and drought, and because a mass of jellyfish appeared in front of a power plant on the English Channel coast, utility EDF said. Large numbers of jellyfish are appearing on many French beaches due to unusually warm sea temperatures. In a statement, the company said the closures had minimal impact on France’s electricity production. He said the extreme weather does not pose risks to the safety of the reactors themselves. The UK bushfires come as London records its hottest day of the year. In the central English town of Stourbridge, where a large fire broke out on Thursday, television images showed fires consuming houses, many of which were left roofless as flames burned inside charred walls. Between 20 and 30 houses were completely destroyed, Stourbridge MP Cat Eccles told the BBC. A woman who was evacuated from her home in Stourbridge said police knocked on her door and urged her to leave immediately. “They thought the fire was changing direction and they didn’t know which direction it was going,” Jane Baxter told BBC Radio. “So, it was literally ‘grab what you need and go out.’” Simon Tuhill, chief fire officer for West Midlands Fire Service, said an investigation would be launched, but it is believed the fire started in the meadow before spreading to nearby houses. Nineteen people and six firefighters have been hospitalized for smoke inhalation and other injuries caused by multiple bushfires in the West Midlands region. In nearby Stoke-on-Trent, a 23-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman were arrested on Friday on suspicion of arson over a large grass fire that spread quickly. The Met Office, the official weather agency, said 38.1°C (100.6°F) was recorded in west London on Thursday, marking the hottest day of the year. While temperatures dropped slightly on Friday, many parts of the country have seen little to no rain for weeks. This July has been the driest in England and Wales since records began in 1836. Subscribe to Morning Wire – our main newsletter breaks down the day’s biggest headlines. Spain moves remains of kings to avoid fires Spanish authorities on Thursday night moved the remains of three 11th-century kings from a monastery in the northeastern region of Aragon near an active forest fire. The remains were taken to a museum about 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of the 10th-century San Juan de la Peña monastery, which remained unharmed Friday, according to regional authorities. Paintings, liturgical objects and clothing of a notable 18th-century Spanish count were among other items removed from the monastery. The wildfire had not yet been contained as of midday Friday and about 800 residents were evacuated. Temperatures were expected to drop slightly on Saturday. Another much larger wildfire in southern Spain has burned more than 300 square kilometers (120 square miles) in Huelva province, also forcing evacuations. Firefighters battle forest fire in Germany The 1,800 residents of the western German town of Gey were evacuated after a forest fire with shifting winds in the nearby Hürtgen Forest threatened to reach their homes. Nearly 300 hectares (1.16 square miles) of forest were on fire Friday morning, local authorities said. Unexploded ordnance from World War II in the forest hampered firefighting efforts, German news agency dpa reported. The fire advanced to within 300 meters (1,000 feet) of Gey, which is located at the edge of the forest near the Belgian border. The cause of the fire is still unknown. Germany has set a new record for heat-related deaths so far this year, surpassing the 2018 level for the entire year, the Robert Koch Institute reported Thursday. An estimated 12,500 people died from heat-related causes between January 1 and August 2. Fire in Croatia leaves 1 dead, 14 hospitalized The person’s body was found while police searched the burned area. The fire broke out on Thursday night in a suburb of Omis and spread quickly due to strong wind. Regional maritime authorities said 194 people, including children, were rescued from the sea and several boats as they tried to flee the fire. Firefighters put out the blaze Friday morning as other aircraft crews headed further south toward the Peljesac Peninsula, where another wildfire broke out overnight. The largest fire occurs in the Gure-Lure area, where the perimeter near the residential homes has been controlled. Three people have been prosecuted for that fire, which devastated the Lura National Park. It is suspected that they did not take measures to protect the territory against fires, authorities said. Meanwhile, in northern Greece, more than 300 tourists and residents were evacuated by sea on Thursday after a wildfire swept through a pine forest and threatened seaside homes, authorities said. Belgium expected to set another heat recordBelgium expected to hit its highest temperature of the summer on Friday, rising to 37 C (98.6 F) in the capital, Brussels. It reached 37 C (98.6 F) in the neighboring Netherlands. The country is suffering from a serious drought, with water shortages in some areas, but Dutch authorities have postponed declaring a water crisis as rain is expected in the coming days. ___Hui reported from London. Stefanie Dazio in Berlin; Claudia Ciobanu in Warsaw, Poland; Zana Cimili in Pristina, Kosovo; Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Serbia; Lorne Cook in Brussels; and Suman Naishadham in Madrid contributed to this report.
