Wildfires in Europe persist as fires now threaten Portugal

Firefighters continue to contain blazes in parts of France,

Spain and England.

In Spain, firefighters battle multiple blazes

even as they make progress stabilising two main fires

of concern in the Madrid region and Avila the day before.

And authorities in France say wildfires in the southwest

of the country had not expanded but warns danger was far from over.

Helicopters carry water buckets make repeated passes over

Plage du Truc Vert in Lege-Cap-Ferret, France Thursday

dropping water on lingering hot spots as smoke continues

to rise from the scorched forest.

Jean-Luc Gelyze, President of the Gironde Department

Council of Fire and Rescue Service says,

"We have 3,000 firefighters still engaged at this

stage across the entire fire, which hasn't really

spread in surface

area today, approximately 42,000 hectares. We

are still dealing with the same areas as we had yesterday."

In the same district, local residents and volunteers

work alongside firefighters to help contain flare-ups.

Cooler temperatures, higher humidity and more favourable

winds aid their efforts but underground fires remain

a persistent threat.

French authorities said Thursday that 84,000 people

evacuated due to the wildfires in Gironde were told they

could return home, a clear sign firefighters are gaining control.

Spanish firefighters battled multiple blazes Thursday

even as they made progress stabilising two main fires

in the Madrid region and Avila.

In northwestern Zamora, close to the border with Portugal

firefighters are working to control a blaze that had forced

officials to issue an evacuation order for several towns,

with about 1,000 people asked to shelter in place.

This as experts believe we need to stop burning fossil fuels

to stop global warning blamed for the heatwaves that are

causing more wildfires.

FRIEDERIKE OTTO\climate scientist, Imperial College

We need to stop burning fossil fuels because as long as we

keep burning fossil fuels, temperatures will increase globally

and that will mean that these fire weather conditions will get

worse and worse and there are hard limits to what we can adapt to.