Disposable barbecues have been temporarily banned in the UK because they pose a “significant” fire risk as most of Western Europe continues to swelter in high temperatures.
About 19 people were hospitalised due to fires in central England, with houses burnt down in the West Midlands. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the country was a “tinderbox right now" during a visit of the affected area. "I've never seen scenes like this anywhere in Britain," he said.
The UK has not faced anything like the devastation wrought across Spain, France and elsewhere in Europe this year. However, as it endures the fifth heatwave of what is expected to be its hottest summer, it is dealing with more outbreaks of fire than ever.
The government said on Friday that it considered the use of disposable barbecues to pose a “significant risk to the public, and the environment” due to the “current drought and heatwave conditions”.
The heat is one of the lines of inquiry in an investigation into the cause of a train derailment on the south coast of England on Thursday afternoon that left two people seriously injured and 18 others with light injuries. A second train derailed on Friday east of London but remained upright and no injuries were reported.
Nature turns on Europe
Europe is struggling with wildfires as successive heatwaves this summer have intensified drought, strained water supplies and left vegetation tinder-dry.
In Greece, a wall of flames 3km long and up to 30 metres high was closing in on resorts on the Halkidiki peninsula, south of the city of Thessaloniki, ERT public television reported.
Nearly 500 tourists were evacuated by sea in small boats, many carrying children in their arms. Patrol and fire boats and fishing vessels were involved in the operation, the coastguard said in a statement.
In western Germany, more than 2,000 people were evacuated from their homes early on Friday after a wildfire near the Belgian border spread towards the village of Gey.
Unexploded ammunition
Mayor Stephan Cranen said that although the evacuation had been completed, the situation was critical and the flames were around 300 metres from the village, regional public broadcaster WDR reported.
One of the out-of-control wildfires had spread overnight towards a former munitions depot in the nearby town of Dueren, Mr Cranen said.
Unexploded Second World War ammunition remains in some of the surrounding forest because the hilly terrain prevented complete clearance of the area, and occasional detonations were heard during the wildfire, firefighters were quoted as saying.
In Croatia, forest fires spread to the seaside town of Lokva Rogoznica, near Split, killing one person, injuring 40 others and forcing the evacuation of 2,000 residents and tourists, local authorities said. Croatia's fire chief, Slavko Tucakovic, described it as the worst blaze in the country's history.
The fire “swept everything in its way … there has been huge material damage”, Mr Tucakovic said. The fire appeared to have calmed on Friday morning, he added.
In France, fires were picking up in the south-western area of Les Landes, burning through more than 1,000 hectares of land as temperatures again crossed the 40°C threshold. Australia has lent France a Chinook helicopter with a water capacity of 11,000 litres, nearly twice as much as Canadairs used by France. The area witnessed major fires last month that led to the evacuation of 220,000 people.
The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service warned of “very extreme” conditions across a large area of central and Eastern Europe, with additional pockets over southern Britain, Ireland, northern France and southern Sweden, in its outlook for the week to August 19.
The average high across Western Europe on Friday was forecast to be 31.2°C, which is 8°C above what was typical from 1961 to 1990, data from the Reuters Climate Monitor showed. The temperature for Europe as a whole was 1.6°C above the 1961-1990 average, it said.
