Wildfires kill three firefighters as Spain, France and Italy battle blazes
Wildfires swept across southern Europe on Wednesday, killing three firefighters and forcing thousands of people to evacuate as extreme heat and dry conditions fueled blazes in Sicily, southwestern France and central Spain. Rescue teams battled dozens of fires simultaneously across the three countries. Officials warned that increasingly severe heat waves are making such outbreaks more frequent.
Wildfires tore through parts of southern Europe on Wednesday, killing three firefighters and forcing thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate as extreme heat and dry conditions fed the flames.
The fires struck Sicily, southwestern France and central Spain almost simultaneously, with emergency crews in all three countries battling dozens of separate blazes through the night. Authorities said several roads and rail lines were closed as smoke reduced visibility, and some evacuees were still unable to return to their homes by Wednesday evening.
Officials across the region said the outbreak fits a pattern of increasingly severe and frequent wildfires tied to hotter, drier summers. Emergency services warned that conditions were unlikely to ease in the coming days, with temperature records already broken in parts of Spain this month.
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