Tourists and locals were evacuated from beach resorts in southern Spain after a forest fire broke out near the popular resort of Tarifa in Cadiz, Andalusia. The fire, which started in the hills of Torre de la Peña, threatened campsites and prompted a rescue operation involving aircraft.
Strong winds helped the fire spread, forcing the closure of roads including the N-340 highway and the evacuation of bars, restaurants, and hotels in a two-mile area between La Peña and Casas de Porros. Thick black smoke was seen over deserted beaches. The fire was later stabilised, according to local authorities.
In France, a separate wildfire in the Aude region near the Spanish border killed one person and injured at least 13 others, including 11 firefighters. The fire destroyed at least 25 homes and left over 2,500 without electricity. Officials described the blaze as of “unprecedented scale.”
Scientists attribute the increased frequency and intensity of wildfires to climate change, which is making Europe, the world’s fastest-warming continent, more vulnerable. The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service reports temperatures in Europe have risen at twice the global average since the 1980s.
