July Was Worst Month Ever Recorded For European Forest Fires - AFP

[hatrack]

With the European forest fire season barely underway, EU figures show that last month was the worst July on record and one of the worst months ever recorded for outbreaks. The news came as Spain confirmed that a a 44-year-old female firefighter had become the first victim of the forest fires sweeping Spain.

Spain's Canary Islands are meanwhile continuing to battle two major fires which have ravaged some 350 square kilometres (135 square miles) of land in recent days and forced the evacuation of thousands of people.

The situation in southwest Europe, which had relatively moderate conditions in July, "has changed dramatically, particularly in the south of the Iberian Peninsula and the Canary Islands" in recent days, the European Commission said in a statement.

Experts have warned that the fires on Spain's Canary islands are an environmental catastrophe with some 20 percent of forests on the islands of Tenerife and Gran Canaria burned. Reforestation is expected to take years. The Gran Canaria fire is the largest in the history of the archipelago.

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