PARIS — Firefighters across France and in central England struggled against multiple fires Friday as a new wave of record-breaking heat baked a swath of Europe, their task further complicated by exceptionally parched landscapes.

With France experiencing its driest year ever, a new fire raced through woodlands overnight in the Landes region on the southwest coast. The blaze forced more than 500 people to evacuate their homes in the town of Luglon as hundreds of firefighters deployed to the area, the regional administration said Friday.

It’s one of several fires scorching forests around France this week, including in normally cooler and wetter regions in the north and Brittany. A historic fire devoured forests near Bordeaux last month and pushed a quarter of a million people from their homes.

Meanwhile, efforts to contain a wildfire in Germany were complicated by unexploded World War II munitions, and shifting winds in Croatia spread flames deeper into a coastal suburb and forced more than 1,000 people to flee.

After the U.K. recorded its hottest day of the year on Thursday, wildfires raced across the West Midlands and saw several houses burned to the ground. They have been “one of the most significant” incidents the region’s fire service has ever dealt with, chief fire officer Simon Tuhill said.

Some 1,017 wildfires have been recorded in England and Wales this year, according to data from the National Fire Chiefs Council.

The fires came on the hottest day of the year, when temperatures reached 38.1 degrees Celsius (100.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in west London.

In France, temperatures Thursday approached 41 C (106 F) in several areas, from Aquitaine in the southwest to the Rhone River valley in the east, according to the national weather service. They were forecast to reach similar levels Friday before dropping over the weekend.

The historic temperatures are linked to human-caused climate change, and are hitting countries more designed for long cold seasons and ill-equipped for this sort of heat, with limited air conditioning.

Smoke from a forest fire rises above the Hürtgenwald, in Düren, Germany, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. (Sascha Thelen/dpa via AP)

FOREST FIRE IN GERMANY

All 1,800 residents of the village of Gey in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia state were evacuated after a wildfire in the nearby Hürtgen forest threatened to reach their homes. Nearly 300 hectares (1.16 square miles) of forest were ablaze on Friday morning, local authorities said.

The cause of the blaze remains unknown, and authorities have not ruled out further evacuations in the area.

Hundreds of personnel have been deployed to battle the fire, with the German army sending tanks and firefighting helicopters providing air support.

FIRE IN CROATIA

In Croatia, 14 people were hospitalized, of whom seven remained in life-threatening condition early Friday from a fire that raged overnight by the coastal town of Omis and forced more than 1,000 people to evacuate their homes.

The fire erupted late Thursday in an Omis suburb and quickly spread because of strong wind. Public broadcaster HRT said the blaze came close to the town’s center, and parts of Omis were left without electricity while many cars were burned.

Croatian media published photos from a crowded sports hall in Omis where people crammed on beds and on the floor.

Witnesses told HRT that people were jumping into the sea after boats also caught fire.

Firefighters put out the blaze by Friday morning as other crews in planes headed further south toward the Peljesac peninsula where another wildfire broke out overnight.

ALBANIA WILDFIRES

Albania has been battling dozens of wildfires in recent weeks, with 11 active fires reported across the country Friday.

The largest fire is in the Gure-Lure area, where the perimeter near residential homes has been brought under control, eliminating the risk of the flames spreading to the houses.

Three people have been prosecuted over the fire that engulfed Lura National Park. They are suspected of failing to take the necessary measures to protect and safeguard the territory under their responsibility from fire, authorities said.

In northern Greece, more than 300 vacationers and residents were evacuated by sea Thursday after a wildfire swept through a pine forest and threatened seaside homes, authorities said.

AIR CANADA REBOOKINGS FOR CATANIA, ITALY (CTA)

Meanwhile Air Canada has activated its flexible rebooking policy due to the volcanic activity in Catania, Italy.

Ash spewing from Sicily’s Mount Etna has forced the closure of the Italian island’s largest airport for the fifth consecutive day.

Catania’s airport will remain closed until early Saturday, which falls on the Ferragosto holiday that marks the height of the Italian summer holiday season when millions flock to the sea and mountains.

Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe. While Etna’s activity often interrupts flights at the airport, located 30 kilometres south of the volcano, this is the longest emergency since 2002.

“Volcanic ash can be a great risk for aircraft,” said Boris Behncke, a researcher at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology’s Etna Observatory. “It can be sucked into the motors, and force them to stall. This is why everyone is so very cautious with aircraft when there is a volcanic ash emission.”

Air Canada is allowing travellers to make alternative travel arrangements if need be.

Passengers can make voluntary changes to their itinerary if …

• Air Canada ticket purchase was no later than Aug. 13, 2026, for travel Aug. 15 – 16, 2026; and
• The itinerary includes a flight to or from Vincenzo Bellini Catania Airport (CTA)

Says Air Canada: “If you’re scheduled to travel during the affected period, you can retrieve your booking to change your flight, free of charge, for travel between Aug. 15, 2026 and Aug. 31, 2026. You may rebook your flight to or from Catania (CTA) or one of these alternate airports: Rome (FCO), Milan (MXP), Naples (NAP), or Venice (VCE). Rebooking is subject to availability in the cabin you originally purchased. Outside of those dates and airports, any fare difference will apply.”

Details are outlined on Air Canada’s site.

Travellers requiring assistance, can contact Air Canada at 1-888-247-2262 (or 1-800-361-5373 if travelling on an Aeroplan flight reward).

Travellers who purchased their ticket with Air Canada Vacations are being asked to reach out to ACV directly.

The closure of  has forced planes to be rerouted to other airports on the island, which has pushed up taxi fares and car rental prices, according to the Corriere della Sera daily. The Codacons consumer association has announced it will file a complaint with Italy’s competition authority following complaints about price gouging.

The SAC airport operator said 36% of nearly 2,000 flights scheduled to arrive in Catania from Aug. 6-12 had been cancelled, while more than 600 were diverted to Palermo, Trapani and Comiso in Sicily and Lamezia Terme in Calabria. Flights were able to depart Catania over the weekend, but the airport was officially closed to both incoming and outgoing flights Monday. Comiso was also briefly closed.

The Italian train company Trenitalia has added six trains along the Palermo-Messina-Catania route to help ease the travel pressure.

Italy’s federation of travel agencies and tour operators has called for a task force to coordinate responses to disruptions caused by Mount Etna and said it would ask for a review of how airlines handled the cancellations and passenger assistance.

“Operators are working around the clock to provide assistance, cancellations and alternative travel arrangements, but they cannot bear the burden of structural shortcomings and the management responsibilities of others,” FIAVET President Gian Mario Pilieri said in a statement.

With files from The Associated Press

Lead image caption: Eruptive activity continues on Mount Etna, where lava flows continue to descend on the slopes of the volcano, as seen from Mareneve near Catania, Italy, Aug. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Salvatore Allegra)