"Massive Wildfire Ravages French-Spanish Border, Firefighters Respond"

A wildfire on the French-Spanish border destroyed nearly 1,000 hectares of land, with 500 firefighters mobilized to fight the blaze. The dry winter across parts of southern Europe has raised fears of a repeat of last summer's exceptional conflagrations. The fire spread around the French villages of Cerbere and Banyuls-sur-Mer on the Mediterranean coast, with the blaze fanned by strong, swirling winds that prevented the use of Canadair planes. The blaze later spread across the border into Spain, burning over 500 hectares and prompting the evacuation of about 50 people.