Families Flee, Firefighters Die | 32,000 Hectares Torched As France, Spain Wildfires Spiral | VERTEX

[00:00:02]What begins as another scorching summer is fast becoming Europe's wildfire nightmare.

[00:00:08]Two firefighters are dead near Bordeaux.

[00:00:11]A wildfire in Spain has burned for six consecutive days, 32,000 hectares.

[00:00:17]Four times as many major fires as this time last year.

[00:00:21]Some parts of England have received almost no July rainfall.

[00:00:26]Firefighters are dying. Families [music] are fleeing. Europe is still burning.

[00:00:36]>> [music] >> Europe's wildfire crisis is spiraling out [music] of control. Across France and Spain, relentless heat, raging flames, and deadly conditions are turning forests into disaster zones.

[00:00:50]Firefighters are risking everything to save lives. Entire communities are being evacuated, and authorities are warning that the worst may not yet be over as an unforgiving heatwave continues to grip the continent.

[00:01:03]Firefighters battled multiple major wildfires across France and Spain on July 21st as extreme temperatures, drought, and dangerous [music] weather conditions pushed Europe deeper into one of its most severe wildfire seasons in years.

[00:01:19]In southwest France, two firefighters lost their lives while battling a huge blaze near Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport in the Gironde region.

[00:01:28]Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said, >> [music] >> The fatalities occurred near an airport in the Gironde region, which was on high alert for wildfires.

[00:01:37]>> Speaking during a question and answer session held on July 21st [music] at the French Parliament, Nunez also said he would travel to Gironde as soon as possible [music] to oversee the firefighting efforts. Reports said the fire began as a brush fire before spreading to a nearby building. Around 100 firefighters, supported by specialist aircraft, were deployed to contain the blaze while several flights at Bordeaux Airport were delayed.

[00:02:03]Another major wildfire broke out in the Var department in France with the reported burning of around 500 hectares and was spreading rapidly towards [music] the commune of Cotignac.

[00:02:14]France's wildfire prevention and reporting association described the blaze as out of control with around 600 firefighters deployed and at least 150 residents evacuated. Near Paris, hundreds of firefighters also [music] fought two separate fires in the Fontainebleau forest where nearly 2,000 hectares have burned and around 1,000 people [music] have been evacuated.

[00:02:37]Authorities said water-dropping aircraft were used in the Paris region for the first time to help contain the flames.

[00:02:44]In Guadalajara province of Spain, a massive forest fire continued to burn uncontrolled for a sixth consecutive day forcing the evacuation of more than 1,200 people. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited the command center of the Guadalajara wildfire on July 22nd as emergency crews fought to contain the largest wildfire recorded in Spain this year.

[00:03:10]>> We have already suffered 22 major wildfires.

[00:03:14]To put that into perspective compared with last year, we are talking about four times as many, >> [music] >> four times as many major wildfires as we had at this point last year.

[00:03:25]>> Sanchez affirmed for the public saying that Spain needed a major state pact against the climate emergency.

[00:03:33]>> Spain needs a broad agreement, [music] a major state pact against the climate emergency because we cannot only think about wildfires or climate [music] emergencies that lead to civil protection emergencies when they occur.

[00:03:45]We have to act beforehand.

[00:03:47]We must raise public awareness and we must not trivialize the effects of the climate emergency, but take them very seriously.

[00:03:55]This is not about [music] politics. It is not about ideology. It is science.

[00:04:01]These are the facts. Heat waves that exceed 40° C, as we are unfortunately [music] seeing in many parts of Spain.

[00:04:09]>> Emergency crews struggled to contain the blaze as temperatures climbed above 40° C.

[00:04:16]Helicopters and planes dropped water on the flames to stop the fires advance through mountainous terrain in central Spain.

[00:04:23]The blaze has burned more than 32,000 hectares and prompted the evacuation of more than 1,200 residents.

[00:04:33]>> Can you see how the burnt bark is falling here? They can travel for kilometers and as soon as they land on the grass, it burns. A fire starts and if you don't stop it, we don't know how far it will go. They turn into new fire outbreaks that spread. That's what we need to [music] watch out for. This one is specifically located next to our town.

[00:04:50]>> Meanwhile, Britain's National Drought Group warned that England had received only 3% of its average [music] July rainfall with parts of southern and eastern England recording no rain at all.

[00:05:01]Scientists continue to warn that Europe, the world's fastest warming continent, [music] is experiencing increasingly intense heatwaves, droughts, and wildfires linked to human-driven climate change.

[00:05:15]>> [music] >> As another wave of extreme weather grips the continent, emergency services remain locked in a race against time with [music] thousands of lives and vast areas of land still under threat.