Wildfire kills 2 people in Spain as parts of Europe bake in heat wave

Two people died in Spain in a wildfire that spread quickly before firefighters brought it under control, authorities said, as a European heat wave sent thermometers soaring again on Wednesday.

The blaze broke out in the rural province of Lleida. It created an enormous thick plume of ash and smoke that reached 14,000 metres of altitude, making it the largest registered by firefighters in Catalonia, a northeastern region of Spain.

Firefighters said that the fire spread at 28 kph at one point, making it one of the fastest fires registered in Europe, they said.

Catalan regional president Salvador Illa announced the deaths, which occurred late Tuesday, in a social media post around midnight. Firefighters said that the two victims were found near the small village of Cosco in the county of La Segarra near a vehicle. Regional official Nuria Parlón said that the two victims were a farmer and one of his workers. She said that it appears that they were caught by the flames as they were trying to flee the farm.

Two firefighters also needed to be treated a local hospital for injuries.

A total of 6,500 hectares was burned before firefighters got some help from a rain storm and established a perimeter. Authorities issued warnings to residents via messages to smartphones and ordered 14,000 people to stay indoors, firefighters said. That order was lifted late Tuesday.

The fire destroyed mostly farmland, but it also incinerated at least three old farmhouses and some other farm buildings.

The fire was declared under control early Wednesday.

"Wildfires today are not like they were before," Ill said. "These are extremely dangerous. From the very first moment, it was considered to be beyond the capacity of extinction. I mean that not even with two or three times the number of firefighters, they have told me, it would have been possible to put out." The heat wave in parts of Europe has set record high temperatures for June in Spain and Portugal.

More hot weather is expected on Wednesday with temperatures in the Lleida region forecast to reach a high of 39 C.

"It will be a difficult day due to the high temperatures and until we get past the hottest part of the afternoon we will have to be on our guard," said Illa, the regional president.

Italy's health ministry also forecast 18 of the country's 27 major cities will be experiencing a heat wave on Wednesday.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)