Devastating Wildfires Force More Than 360,000 People to Evacuate in France and Spain

In France and Spain, devastating wildfires have forced more than 360,000 people to evacuate their homes. It’s one of the largest evacuations in France’s history. The fires began in the southwest of France on Wednesday, before spreading to Spain. In France, 2,500 firefighters, 1,500 military personnel and nearly 1,200 police have been deployed to bring the fires under control. It comes as a new heat wave is expected to hit Europe this week, with temperatures soaring to 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) or more. This is a Spanish resident whose village has been engulfed by the fires. Spanish resident: “We in the village are completely surrounded by all the fires. In the end, the fires here and those in Almorox and Villa del Prado have merged. The one coming from Burgohondo is 10 kilometers from here and is already reaching this area. What we are seeing right now is that they have also joined together — in other words, the three fires from the three provinces are going to merge. And what we are seeing is devastation, fear, anguish. I don’t know. It’s impossible to explain.” www.democracynow.org