分类： environment

As Europe enters one of its most devastating forest fire seasons in modern history, France and Spain reported tentative progress containing massive blazes on Thursday, even as new infernos ignited across the continent, bringing deadly consequences to Greece, Portugal, and Turkey.

Over the past week, extreme wildfire conditions have forced hundreds of thousands of people across the Mediterranean to flee their homes, among them A-list Hollywood actor George Clooney, his wife Amal Clooney, and their family, who were forced to evacuate their southern French estate earlier this week.
Climate scientists have repeatedly warned that this season’s unusually intense fire activity is directly tied to human-caused climate change. Rising regional temperatures have dried out vegetation across the continent, turning vast forested areas into tinderboxes that allow wildfires to spread faster and burn hotter than historical records indicate, drastically increasing the risk of extreme fire emergencies for European communities.

In southwest France, more than 220,000 people have been evacuated from a massive wildfire burning west of Bordeaux that has burned more than 42,000 hectares of land — an area larger than the entire island of Malta. Fire officials reported Thursday that they are “reasonably optimistic” the massive blaze has stopped spreading, a boost from light overnight rain that dampened smoldering hotspots across the fire zone. Marc Vermeulen, chief of the regional firefighting service, noted that active hotspots had dropped from six to three since dawn, calling the development a “tipping point” in the week-long battle. However, crews remain on high alert for re-ignitions from embers that have persisted through previous lulls in fire activity.
To date, the Bordeaux fire has destroyed more than 200 homes and claimed the lives of two firefighters, who were trapped in their truck by rapidly spreading flames last week. For local residents, the disaster extends far beyond the active fire front. Nina Rosazza, who operates a metal factory in the Arcachon Basin near Bordeaux, called this the “start of the end of the fire” but warned it is only the “start of the crisis.” She added that the damage to local tourism, the natural environment, and the regional landscape will amount to a long-term catastrophe for the community.
Smaller active fires are still burning across other parts of southern France, including a blaze near Brignoles that forced the Clooney family to evacuate their property on Wednesday. In a letter shared with the Brignoles mayor, the couple shared that they did not yet know if their home would survive the fire, but emphasized that they are part of the local community and are committed to helping rebuild the area once the threat passes.

Across the border in Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced Thursday he was lifting the state of emergency declared for a major wildfire that threatened communities near the capital, Madrid. Regional officials confirmed that the fire no longer has any active burning fronts, allowing most of the more than 60,000 people evacuated during the peak of the crisis to return to their homes. However, the country continues to face extreme fire risk: in the western Avila region, an inferno that has been burning since last week has already burned 50,000 hectares of land, making it the largest wildfire recorded in Spain since official record-keeping began in 1961. A new heatwave sweeping across Spain this week has prompted official warnings that dry conditions could reignite contained fire zones near Madrid. On Wednesday, a new wildfire broke out near the Spanish-Portuguese border in Fermoselle, forcing more than 600 local residents to evacuate immediately.

In Greece, the wildfire crisis has already turned deadly, with three firefighters killed while battling active blazes across the country. Two firefighters on the island of Crete were trapped when shifting wind patterns flipped the direction of a fast-moving fire, and a third collapsed and died while fighting a blaze on the Greek mainland near Gythelo. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned that the country faces “difficult days” ahead as summer heat persists and the peak of the annual wildfire season gets underway. On Crete, a major overnight fire near the resort village of Agia Galini forced 8,000 residents and tourists to evacuate, with 300 firefighters deployed to contain two separate active blazes. Local mayor Maria Lioni said the fire is believed to have destroyed residential homes and killed livestock, but the full extent of the damage is still being assessed. Daniela Schmidt, an Austrian tourist on the island, told AFP she and her family were “quite scared” as flames swept across their part of the island overnight. The family was forced to evacuate straight from the beach, still wearing their bathing suits, because they could not return to their hotel to collect belongings.

In northern Portugal’s Valpacos region, nearly 800 firefighters are working to contain a rapidly spreading forest fire, according to the country’s civil protection service. Five people have suffered minor injuries in the fire, including three firefighters and one police officer.

In Turkey, firefighting crews are battling active blazes near some of the country’s most popular tourist destinations, including the coastal region of Antalya and the Dardanelles strait. Agriculture Minister Ibrahim Yumakli reported that 105 of the 110 wildfires that ignited across the country in recent days are now contained, with only five active blazes remaining. Turkey’s forestry agency said it is running intensive ground and air firefighting operations along the country’s fire-prone coastal corridor, stretching from Antalya to Alanya and from Mugla to Fethiye.

As record-breaking wildfires continue to sweep across France, forcing mass evacuations and burning thousands of hectares of forest, one of the country’s high-profile celebrity properties has found itself in the path of danger. Hollywood A-lister George Clooney and his wife, prominent human rights attorney Amal Clooney, have voluntarily evacuated their sprawling private estate near the southeastern French town of Brignoles after a fast-spreading wildfire ignited in the area Wednesday evening.

The evacuation comes amid a devastating week for French firefighting teams, who have been working around the clock to contain what are already being called the worst wildfires the nation has seen in modern history. The largest of the active blazes, located in southwest France, has already destroyed more than 42,000 hectares of land – a total area that exceeds the geographic size of the major U.S. city of Detroit. The Brignoles blaze, while smaller in scale, has already burned 130 hectares of land and forced more than 600 local residents to leave their homes, though most were permitted to return to their properties by Thursday.

The Clooney family, who share 9-year-old twins, own the 170-hectare Domaine du Canadel estate near Brignoles. The property includes a historic 18th-century manor house, a natural pond, a swimming pool, and working vineyards. Local authorities confirmed Thursday that the couple was not under a mandatory evacuation order, but chose to leave the estate as a proactive safety precaution as the fire advanced closer to their land.

In a statement shared with Brignoles mayor, which was later published by People magazine and verified as authentic by officials, the Clooneys shared their uncertainty about the fate of their home. “At this point we have no idea whether our beautiful home makes it through this terrible moment,” the couple wrote. They extended their primary concern to local residents, saying they hoped all of their neighbors remained unharmed and safe.

Reaffirming their ties to the local community, the pair added: “Amal and I are committed to making sure that whatever happens to our village, we are part of this community and we’ll be part of making it whole.”

As of Thursday, 270 firefighters remained on the ground battling the Brignoles blaze, supported by four water-bombing aircraft to slow the fire’s spread. Four firefighters have already sustained injuries while fighting the fire, according to official updates. Most of the 600 evacuated local residents have been allowed to return to their properties as containment efforts progress.

A week of catastrophic, record-breaking wildfires across Western and Southern Europe has entered a new phase this week, with favorable weather finally bringing relief to hard-hit regions in France and Spain, while emergency crews continue to battle out-of-control blazes in Greece and Turkey.

In southwestern France, near the iconic wine capital of Bordeaux, firefighters are breathing a tentative sigh of relief after days of raging flames that have already become the country’s worst wildfire event since 1949. Cooler temperatures and long-awaited rainfall reached the affected coastal pine forest region on Thursday, halting the spread of the massive blaze that has already consumed more than 42,000 hectares of land — an area larger than the entire U.S. city of Detroit. Thunder rumbled over the coastal town of Lege-Cap-Ferret on Thursday, with scattered raindrops falling across the fire zone, a sight welcomed by first responders stationed at the local command post set up in the town’s sports hall.

Regional firefighting authorities report they are “reasonably optimistic” that the worst of the emergency has passed, noting the blaze has not expanded beyond its existing boundaries since the weekend. Still, regional fire chief Marc Vermeulen emphasized that the battle is far from over: crews will need multiple days of sustained work dousing smoldering hot spots deep within the forest and along the fire’s perimeter to prevent the flames from flaring up again once drier, warmer conditions return. So far, the French blaze has forced more than 220,000 people — including vacationers staying at campsites and coastal bungalows, and permanent residents of the region — to evacuate, and destroyed roughly 240 residential properties.

For many local residents, the repeated trauma of climate-fueled wildfires has prompted permanent changes of plans. Kevin Montmartre, an Uber driver based in inland Bordeaux who has already been evacuated three times in recent days from his second home in the beach town of Andernos-les-Bains, told Agence France-Presse that growing wildfire frequency tied to climate change has made him rethink his property investment. “Honestly, I’ve talked it over with my wife, and if there’s another one in the coming years, we’ll sell the house,” he said as rain began to fall in Bordeaux.

Neighboring Spain, which has also faced some of the most extreme wildfire conditions in modern history, is also reporting major progress in containing its blazes. Authorities in the Madrid region announced Thursday that the large wildfire burning on the capital’s outskirts has not spread for several days, with only a small number of smoldering hot spots remaining and “almost no flames” left active. Since the fire began last Wednesday, it has burned 27,000 hectares of land and destroyed at least 100 homes, a toll that officials expect to rise as full assessments begin. By Wednesday, thousands of evacuees had already been allowed to return to their homes, with only around 1,000 people still displaced as of Thursday morning.

Further west in Spain, the Avila wildfire has already made history as the largest wildfire the country has recorded since national fire tracking began in 1961, having burned approximately 50,000 hectares of land to date.

While France and Spain see progress, emergency responders across other parts of Southern Europe are still working to contain fast-moving blazes. On the Greek island of Crete, a popular Mediterranean tourist destination, thousands of residents and visitors were evacuated late Wednesday as high winds pushed flames toward resort areas. The fire continued to rage on Thursday, and local official Maria Lioni confirmed that early reports indicate homes, agricultural infrastructure, and livestock have been lost, though full damage counts remain unavailable while the fire is still active.

In Turkey, officials report the country is currently battling at least 115 active wildfires across its territory, though crews have managed to bring 110 of those blazes under control. Thousands of volunteers have joined professional firefighting crews across the continent to support evacuation efforts, supply logistics, and fire suppression work.