Wildfire rages near Paris as heatwave scorches Europe

NOISY-SUR-ECOLE, July 13: A wildfire tore through a historic forest near Paris on Monday, forcing highway closures and mobilising water-bombing aircraft, while Spain's death toll from one of its deadliest wildfires rose to 13, as a relentless heatwave scorched much of western Europe.

The region is enduring its third heatwave of the summer, with tinder-dry vegetation and high temperatures fuelling blazes from the Iberian Peninsula to France. Most scientists say the fires are driven by climate change.

France deployed hundreds of firefighters to tackle a fast-moving blaze that broke out alongside a motorway near Fontainebleau, home to one of France's best-known royal palaces, which once served as a hunting lodge and autumn residence for past monarchs.

The death toll from last week's devastating wildfire in Spain's southern province of Almeria reached 13 after a 93-year-old British woman died from burns, with 10 people still missing as of Monday, according to authorities.�" REUTERS