BORMES-LES-MIMOSAS, France: Local residents joined firefighters in southern France Wednesday to battle blazes that have forced over 10,000 people to flee and left chunks of coastal forest a blackened mess. In some places, locals used spades, rakes and even tree branches in a desperate bid to beat back the flames until the firefighters arrived. Forest fires were also raging in parts of central Portugal, where several villages were evacuated and roads closed down. The fires have devoured around 7,000 hectares (27 square miles) of forest across southeast France and Corsica. Portugal, which suffered deadly forest fires last month has been battling fresh blazes since Sunday in centre of the country, forcing the evacuation of around 10 villages.

Source: Manila Times July 27, 2017 03:44 UTC