Giant 'fire cloud' captured from space: Fatalities in European wildfires, evacuations also in Turkey

Massive wildfires are raging across Europe: France and Spain continue battling the flames, with mass evacuations and casualties. Two firefighters died in Crete, and 90 fires also broke out in Turkey. A 'fire cloud' was documented from space.

Massive wildfires continue to rage across Europe, with France and Spain at the center of the battle. In France, in the Gironde department in the southwest, about 220,000 residents and tourists were evacuated – the largest evacuation in French history outside of wartime. About 60,000 were allowed to return home, but an additional 4,000 were evacuated from tourist areas near the Atlantic coast. 2,200 firefighters and 20 aircraft are battling the flames amid a heatwave of 40°C. The fire has consumed at least 420,000 dunams. In Spain, the fire in Castellón in the Valencia region is still not under control, and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the next 12 hours would be 'decisive'. 10,000 evacuated residents have not yet been allowed to return. In Greece, two firefighters died on the island of Crete after being trapped by flames. Three villages were evacuated. In Turkey, 90 fires broke out, with evacuations in Antalya. The 'fire cloud' phenomenon (pyrocumulonimbus) was documented from space over the fires in France and Spain.