Firefighters managed to contain huge wildfires in Portugal and the French island of Corsica on Saturday, though hot weather meant the risk of them spreading again remained high.
Almost 1,000 people were evacuated in Corsica overnight, mostly tourists staying at campsites, as 2,000 hectares of scrubland was destroyed, although no casualties were reported. The evacuees were put up in schools and other temporary shelters.
A man suspected of starting five fires in Bastia, a town with a population of 40,000 in northeast Corsica, was arrested and will remain in detention at least through the weekend, officials said.
At Cap Corse, the most northerly point of the Mediterranean island where the fire had spread, the blaze was “contained but not controlled”, according to the local authorities Saturday.
“It’s hell,” Christian Burchi, a 50-year-old Sisco resident said. “We tried to extinguish the flames with two buckets of water and a ridiculous hose. Everywhere is burning.”
Around 180 firefighters, bolstered by reinforcements from the mainland, were battling the flames aided by three fire-bombing aircraft.