PARIS (AP) — Firefighters battled wildfires raging out of control in France and Spain as Europe wilted under an unusually extreme heat wave that authorities in Madrid blamed for hundreds of deaths. Two huge blazes that have consumed pine forests for six days in southwestern France have forced the evacuation of some 14,000 people. Authorities have shut down access to Europe’s tallest sand dune. Water-dropping planes zig-zagged the area, as flames lapped at the edge of a farm field, and smoke blanketed the skyline above a mass of singed trees. In Spain, firefighters supported by military brigades tried Sunday to stamp out over 30 fires consuming forests spread across the country.
Fires scorch France and Spain, as Europe wilts in heat wave
