Nearly 500 arrested in France on suspicion of starting wildfires as blazes hit Europe

French authorities say almost 500 people have been arrested on suspicion of starting wildfires since the beginning of the summer. According to the interior ministry, 474 people, including 183 minors, have been detained over wildfires since 1 July. Around 70% are suspected of deliberately starting fires, while the rest are accused of doing so accidentally. French media reported that a 15-year-old boy was detained in connection with a fire near Bordeaux airport that killed two firefighters in July.

On Friday, more than 525 people were evacuated from the village of Luglon in the south-western Landes region after a new wildfire tore through nearly 1,100 hectares of tinder-dry pine forest in less than 24 hours. Regional official Gilles Clavreul said the situation was unfavourable and the fire was still raging, with 500 firefighters and six water-dumping aircraft battling the flames. Roads to the village were closed. Luglon lies about 100km south-east of Arcachon Bay and the Lège-Cap-Ferret peninsula, where two huge wildfires destroyed more than 50,000 hectares in late July and forced up to 220,000 people to evacuate.

Germany and Croatia

In western Germany, more than 2,000 people fled their homes early on Friday to take shelter in a local school after a wildfire in the Hürtgen forest came within a few hundred metres of the village of Gey. Mona Neubaur, deputy premier of North Rhine-Westphalia, said the fire threatened the local community. Unexploded second world war munitions were hampering firefighters, with dpa news agency reporting explosions as ordnance detonated in the flames. German army tanks and helicopters were providing support.

In Croatia, a wind-driven wildfire hit the tourist town of Lokva Rogoznica on the Dalmatian coast overnight, engulfing houses, forcing about 1,000 people to evacuate and injuring several dozen. Of 36 people treated by ambulance services in Split, 14 were admitted to hospital and seven had life-threatening injuries. Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, visiting nearby Omiš, called the blaze one of the worst fires in recent years. A section of a major coastal highway was shut.

Spain, Greece and the UK

In north-eastern Spain, an army unit removed the remains of three 11th-century Aragonese kings from the San Juan de la Peña monastery after it was threatened by a wildfire, taking them to a museum in Huesca. The fire, which began on Monday, intensified on Thursday and has burned more than 9,000 hectares, forcing the evacuation of 16 towns and villages. A larger wildfire in the southern province of Huelva has so far scorched 31,000 hectares and forced about 700 people to flee.

In northern Greece, a fleet of small boats evacuated about 500 holidaymakers from beaches as a forest fire threatened the resorts of Siviri and Fourka on the Halkidiki peninsula. The 2-mile-long fire front, with flames up to 30 metres high, was brought under control later in the day, but two injured firefighters were taken to hospital. A maximum level-five fire alert was issued for much of the Greek mainland, and Halkidiki officials banned access to dense pine forests, with winds of up to 62 mph forecast.

In the UK, wildfires raced across the West Midlands, burning several houses to the ground in what regional fire chief Simon Tuhill described as one of the most significant incidents the service has had to deal with. Scientists say climate breakdown is causing more frequent extreme weather, with Europe heating at about twice the global average rate.