Wildfires in Europe abate as temperatures start to decline

Europe’s recent spate of wildfires have abated amid cooler temperatures with no outbreaks reported in Portugal while French firefighters started to get the upper hand over two major blazes and Spain tamed a fire that killed two people.

Spanish firefighters were tackling nine blazes, with two said to be especially dangerous in north-western Galicia.

Some of the 11,000 people evacuated because of the fires in Spain began returning home, and a major highway in the north-western Zamora province reopened after two days.

Temperatures above 40C and a drought have worsened Spain’s wildfires this year. Thursday’s highest temperature in Spain was forecast to be 32C.

In France, more than a week of round-the-clock battling against ferocious flames by 2,000 firefighters and up to 10 water-dropping planes was slowly defeating two major wildfires in tinder-dry pine forests in south-west France.

The Gironde region’s fire service said both blazes, which forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people, were contained.

Though still fighting hot spots that could reignite blazes, the fire service said it expects to have damped down flare-ups and tamed the fires’ embers within days.

Officials said they will probably be able to declare the fires completely extinguished within weeks.