Europe wildfires live: France and Spain enter ‘crucial’ hours before new 40C heatwave

Firefighters in France and Spain face a race against time to bring their raging wildfires under control before heatwave conditions return to the two countries, officials said. Spain's interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska called it an "absolutely crucial" period, with weather forecasters in both countries warning temperatures could reach 40C again in some parts later today. Spain’s state meteorological agency says the new heatwave will then last until “at least” Sunday, “making firefighting efforts more difficult due to high temperatures [and] locally gusty southerly winds”. Emmanuel Macron said France was facing its most difficult situation since the Second World War, urging fire crews to “stay strong” as they try to bring the “unprecedented” blaze under control. Authorities warned that the fires raging just 15km outside the city of Bordeaux could last for months, with crews from all over the country forced to rotate in to extinguish the blaze. More than 360,000 people have been evacuated across France and Spain due to fires as Europe bakes in one of the hottest summers on record. France warns wildfires could burn for 'several months' French officials warned the raging wildfires could burn for weeks if not months before they are fully extinguished. Lieutenant Colonel David Annotel from the National Federation of Firefighters of France told RTL that it would take "many weeks, probably several months" before authorities could declare the fire in the south-west completely extinguished. Emmanuel Macron has pledged the government's full support in responding to one of the largest disasters faced by France since the Second World War. "We will be there, and together we are going to win this battle, and we will also be there over the long term," he said. He added that when the blaze is extinguished "we'll have to replant and rebuild a different forest because this forest is not the same". Macron pledges support on visit to fire zone, vows: 'We will win this battle together' French president Emmanuel Macron urged fire crews to “stay strong” as they battled to bring a monster wildfire under control. He warned that the fight will take time. "We will win this battle together," he said. On a visit to a coordination center for the massive firefighting effort in southwest France, Mr Macron heard how the blaze raging since last week has been wildly unpredictable, transforming at times into a self-feeding fire storm as it burned through an area four times the size of Paris and forced 220,000 people to flee their homes. “We're facing a completely unprecedented fire,” Mr Macron said, describing the situation as France's worst fire-related crisis since World War II. He praised firefighting teams who stopped the inferno's progression yesterday after days of spreading flames that edged toward the wine region city of Bordeaux. But with woodlands still smoldering, he and other government officials cautioned that the battle isn’t yet won, with forests turned tinder-dry by successive heat waves this year and another forecast for this week. “The weeks ahead will be hard. We must hold firm,” he said. Prince William says wildfires are a ‘stark reminder’ of climate change challenges Prince William has released a statement following the wildfires that have taken place across France, Spain and the UK. The Prince of Wales took to social media on Monday evening to say his thoughts were “with everyone affected” and that he was “deeply grateful to the firefighters, emergency services and volunteers working tirelessly in extraordinarily difficult conditions”. Spain evacuates two other towns More than 40 towns have now been evacuated in Spain after its interior ministry announced the evacuation of two locations near Madrid. People in Santa María de la Alameda and Las Navas del Marqués have been sent alerts urging them to leave the area. The wildfires have forced hundreds of thousands of people out of their homes in what the EU on Monday called “one of the biggest evacuation operations in Europe.” France and Spain in 'race against time' to control wildfires as temperatures set to rise again France was in “a race against time” to control wildfires before another heatwave this week, fire service spokesperson Eric Brocardi told The Guardian. Weather forecasters in both countries have said temperatures could reach 40C (104F) again is some parts from Tuesday. Spain’s state meteorological agency says the heatwave will last until “at least” Sunday, “making firefighting efforts more difficult due to high temperatures [and] locally gusty southerly winds”. Spain’s interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, said Monday and Tuesday were “absolutely crucial days” before temperatures rise again from Wednesday. Prime minister Pedro Sánchez warned: “We face difficult hours, complex hours” ahead. What is a 'fire cloud'? Experts have warned that the blaze raging in France and Spain has been driven by a “fire cloud”, which occurs when a wildfire generates its own unique weather system. Known technically as pyrocumulonimbus, or "pyroCB” clouds, “fire clouds” are a unique phenomenon where a full thunderstorm forms within a fire plume. They begin when intense fires release enormous amounts of heat and energy, driving huge amounts of hot air, smoke, and ash rapidly upward. As this plume reaches high altitudes, low atmospheric pressure causes the rising air to expand and cool. This rapid drop in temperature forces the moisture within the plume to condense into massive mushroom-shaped storm clouds. Dubbed the "fire-breathing dragon of clouds" by NASA, these clouds can generate catastrophic conditions that accelerate the spread of further wildfires.