Fires scorch France, Spain; temperature-related deaths soar

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By ANGELA CHARLTON and JOSEPH WILSON

PARIS (AP) — Firefighters struggled on Sunday to contain wildfires raging out of control in France and Spain as Europe wilts under an unusually extreme heat wave that authorities link to a rise in excess mortality.

Two huge blazes that have been consuming pine forests for six days just south of the city of Bordeaux in southwest France have forced the evacuation of some 14,000 people, including many who were set to spend their vacation at campsites.

In Spain, firefighters supported by the armed forces’ emergency brigades are trying to stamp out over 30 fires consuming forests spread across the country. Spain’s National Defense Department said that “the majority” of its fire-fighting aircraft have been deployed. Many areas are rugged, hilly terrain that makes it difficult for ground crews to access.

So far, there have been no fire-related deaths in France or Spain. In Portugal, a pilot of a firefighting plane died when his aircraft crashed on Friday.



This photo provided by the fire brigade of the Gironde region (SDIS 33) shows a Canadair plane fighting wildfire near La Teste-de-Buch, southwestern France, Saturday, July 16, 2022. Strong winds and hot, dry weather are frustrating French firefighters' efforts to contain a huge wildfire that raced across pine forests in the Bordeaux region Saturday for a fifth straight day, one of several scorching Europe in recent days. (SDIS 33 via AP)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/wildfires-france-fires-evacuations-c6b6e5f2abe0611da6dd88790a23e94b

[2naSalit]

1. My favorite video of...

One of the aerial firefighting units,


vimeo http://vimeo.com/48642618 w=460&h=259

[purr-rat beauty]

2. At some point

there won't be anything left to burn

but us

[ancianita]

3. EU's in the wet bulb zone.

So is the OK/TX region.

[NickB79]

4. Oh crap

Ministry of the Future, here we come.

[ancianita]

5. Yep.

[NickB79]

6. The Mediterranean will become like North Africa soon

There will be mass migration away from the heat in the next 20 years.

Cities will be abandoned, and farmland lost to the sand.

At 420+ ppm of CO2, there is literally nothing we can do to stop it anymore.

[yonder]

7. But as long as we remain ever-growing, obedient, consumer purchasing units, who cares? Amirite?

(if needed)

[dalton99a]

9. +1. Sea creatures are already moving toward the poles

[Grins]

8. Didn't rake their forests...?

S/

[Danmel]

10. We just returned from a lovely trip to Portugal

We traveled the country from Porto in the north to the Algarve coast. It is a beautiful country with warm, welcoming people. My heart aches for everyone affected by this horrific heatwave. It is sobering and scary. Our future is happening now.