One person dies and hundreds flee after wildfires spread across France and Spain

Wildfires have broken out in Spain and France leaving one dead and nine injured, with tourists and locals forced to evacuate.

A woman has died in her home in Aude, southern France, as fires spread across 11,000 hectares burning 25 homes.

One person is in a critical condition with severe burns, while seven firefighters have also been injured.

Tourists have also been evacuated in Spain after a wildfire has broken out near a beach resort.

Footage shows the blaze raging in the hills of Torre de la Peña in Cadiz near Tarifa on Tuesday afternoon.

Gusts of 20-25km per hour are fanning the fire closer to the N-340 highway and the Estrecho Natural Park.

The blaze started in a motorhome at the Torre la Peña campsite and spread west away from the campsite.

It spread rapidly through a dry and grassy area and now all bars, restaurants and hotels have been evacuated between La Peña  and Casas de Porros, reports Europa Sur.

Five helicopters, two water-carrying planes, a coordination plane and five forest fire ground crews have all been deployed to help fight the fire.

It comes after a 44°C heatwave spread across parts of southern Europe, leaving dozens of people dead.

Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria have all seen wildfires spread across the Balkan region.

In Bursa, Turkey, more than 3,500 people have been forced to flee their homes in villages to the northeast as more than 1,900 firefighters battled the flames.

Four people have been killed so far. The death toll rose last night after two firefighters, who were pulled from a water tanker that rolled while heading to a forest inferno, died in hospital. Another firefighter died from a heart attack while on the line of duty.

Their deaths raised Turkey’s wildfire fatalities to 17 since June, including 10 rescue volunteers and forestry workers killed on Wednesday.

In neighbouring Greece, 50 fires scorched the suburbs of Athens, forcing the government to evacuate residents over the weekend.

Firefighters were working on five major fronts late Sunday in the area of Peloponnese, west of the capital, as well as on the islands of Evia, Kythera and Crete.

Wildfires have also spread across Bulgaria, with emergency services describing the situation as ‘critical’.

Theodora Vasileva, mayor of one of the devastated villages, Kozarevo, in the southeastern province of Yambol, said this is the first time she had witnessed a disaster of such magnitude.

She added: ‘The rapid notification system helped us a lot – people started calling and gathered in minutes. This is the first time I am seeing this hell; the sunflower crops were all in flames.

‘The elderly, whose homes are everything for them, wept. They were so worried, but everything is under control for now, their houses are preserved.’

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