Hundreds of firefighters are battling wildfires across France, Spain and Portugal that have burned more than 17,000 hectares as a heat wave pushes temperatures near 40C and strains emergency services.Spain's Costa Brava blaze consumed 2,200 hectares in the Gavarres protected natural area and police detained a suspect, while Portugal's 13,000-hectare fire is about 80% contained after Spain and Italy sent reinforcements to assist 1,200 firefighters and nine people suffered burn injuries.Officials including
Laurent Nuñez and
Eric Belgioino say the fire season is starting unusually early and will be prolonged because of the heat wave and climate change, and forecasters expect the heat to persist into next week with record June temperatures linked by
World Weather Attribution to climate change.