A man has died from burns and thousands of people have been forced to flee as wildfires sweep through parts of Spain, fuelled by strong winds during a searing heatwave across Europe.
The victim suffered serious burns as winds of up to 70 kilometres per hour (43 miles per hour) whipped the flames through Tres Cantos, a wealthy suburb north of the capital, Madrid, officials said on Tuesday.
The man later died in hospital, becoming the first death from dozens of wildfires to hit the country since the heatwave began last week.
The head of the regional government of Madrid, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, said in a message on X that she “deeply regretted” the man’s death.
Hundreds of Tres Cantos residents were evacuated from their homes.
“In barely 40 minutes, the fire advanced 6km [3.7 miles],” Carlos Novillo, Madrid’s regional environment chief, told reporters.
By Tuesday morning, regional officials said the blaze had been contained.
Elsewhere, about 2,000 people were evacuated from hotels and homes near the popular beaches of Tarifa in the southern region of Andalusia.
The wildfire there broke out near where a similar blaze forced evacuations earlier this month.
“We managed to save the residential area at the very last second,” said Antonio Sanz, the interior minister of Andalusia.
A Civil Guard police officer was injured when struck by a car while helping with the evacuation, he added.
In the northwestern region of Castile and Leon, more than 30 blazes were reported on Monday, including one threatening Las Medulas, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its ancient Roman gold mines.
Heat alerts were also issued in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and the Balkans, with temperatures expected to soar above 40C. One child died of heatstroke in Italy on Monday.
Turkiye battles fires in northwest
Wildfires are also raging in Turkiye.
Firefighters battled multiple wildfires across the country on Tuesday with a large blaze in the northwestern province of Canakkale burning for a second day after hundreds of residents were evacuated as a precaution.
Both the Canakkale Airport and the Dardanelles Strait, which connects the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara, were temporarily closed due to the wildfires on Monday.
Wildfires in Canakkale province’s Ezine and Ayvacik districts were largely brought under control, but blazes in the province’s centre, south of the Dardanelles Strait, were still burning, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Ibrahim Yumakli said in a post on X.
Seven planes and six helicopters were tackling the blaze on Tuesday, Canakkale Governor Omer Toraman said on X, adding that there was no immediate danger to residential areas.
Other wildfires in the northern province of Edirne and southern province of Hatay were brought under control while efforts were under way to battle another wildfire in the western province of Manisa, Yumakli said.
The wildfires coincide with what meteorologists expect to be the most intense day yet of the ongoing heatwave in Europe, with all regions under weather alerts.
Forecasters warned of highs about 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) and overnight lows that remain above 25C (77F).
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