Thousands of firefighters battled more than 20 blazes that raged on Wednesday across Portugal and western Spain, with the fires menacing villages and disrupting tourists' holidays amid a heat wave that has pushed temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius in some parts of Europe.
In France, hundreds of firefighters, supported by six water-bomber aircraft, battled two wildfires in the southwest, which prompted the evacuation of thousands of campers, Gironde prefect Fabienne Buccio said.
In Santiago de Guarda in the central Portuguese district of Leiria, Albertina Francisco struggled to hold back tears as a cloud of black smoke billowed over the tiny village.
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