Spain and France race against time to contain fires before a new heat wave

After several days of anguish, authorities in both countries expressed some optimism in the last few hours. The two nations have more than 120,000 hectares burned, hundreds of homes destroyed and thousands of residents and tourists displaced.

In France, firefighters managed to contain the forest fire that has already destroyed around 42 thousand hectares in the Bordeaux region during the early hours of the morning.

In Spain, residents of 9 of 11 cities in the central province of Toledo were allowed to return home. However, there are still fires in the Madrid region and in the provinces of Ávila, Toledo and Castellón.

"Today we can be a little calmer, but we are at critical times. We are talking about a fundamental moment in which it is necessary to work to anticipate the arrival of a new heat wave", said Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska this Tuesday.

In the opinion of Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, the country is beginning to see a light at the end of the tunnel, but there are still complex hours ahead.

"The situation we are dealing with today is the most serious we have ever recorded, the most difficult since the Second World War," said French President Emmanuel Macron.

"We are facing a completely unprecedented forest fire," he told emergency teams in Bordeaux on Monday night (27).

Forest fires in France have already burned a larger area than in the same period in any year since 2006.

Since January, the country has accumulated 92 thousand hectares burned, a record in 20 years, according to the European EFFIS system. In Spain, there have been 207 thousand hectares since the beginning of the year, very close to the historic maximum.

Europe, the fastest warming continent in the world, has seen record heat waves this year. Scientists say human-caused climate change is intensifying heat and drought, allowing wildfires to spread faster, last longer and become more destructive.

NEW HEAT WAVE

Despite progress in efforts to combat the fire, the situation remained difficult, according to Nathalie Delattre, senator for Gironde, a region that covers the city of Bordeaux.

"It will all depend on how the firefighters on site fare," she told BFM TV on Tuesday.

Campsites and tourist residences in Lacanau, on the Atlantic coast near Bordeaux, were being emptied on Tuesday, Lacanau City Hall said on its Facebook page. In total, 4,000 people had to leave the area.

In Spain, overnight conditions in Madrid allowed active fire fronts to be fought effectively, helping to reduce the threat, although the outbreaks are not yet under control, according to the government.

Many residents were still awaiting clearance to return to their homes. In Aldea del Fresno, 50 km west of Madrid, dozens of residents formed a line of cars in the hope of receiving authorization from the Civil Guard to return home.

"They don't let it pass because of the smoke, they say there's a lot of it and you can't even breathe with a mask," said domestic worker Galia Borisova, 55, who was forced to leave her animals behind.

Among those who are able to return, some have come across structures reduced to ashes. "We lost everything," María Ángeles Cañete, 54, told AFP.

Alongside her husband, she owned the Pantano del Burguillo campsite, in Ávila, and another nearby. "We have nothing."

The Reuters Climate Monitor indicates that the temperature in Bordeaux is expected to reach 33°C this Tuesday, 7.1°C above the daily average between 1961 and 1990. In Madrid, the forecast was 37°C, a value 5.5°C above the average.

Satellite image reveals smoke cloud over Spain

Record made by Sentinel-3 shows the scale of the fires that hit the center and west of the country. The Copernicus system helps authorities monitor the flames and affected areas