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France Hit by Fires in South as Heatwave Reaches Peak

France Hit by Fires in South as June's Heatwave Reaches Peak

(Bloomberg) -- The record-setting heatwave in parts of Europe is contributing to wildfires in the south of France, though forecasters say temperatures will ease in the next few days.

In the Gard department of southern France, fires fueled by wind and dry brush destroyed 11 houses and scorched 620 hectares (1,530 acres) of land, officials said, with some still not extinguished Saturday morning.

Record temperatures for the month of June were reached this week in Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland, according to Swedish forecaster SMHI. France set an all-time record on Friday of 45.9 degrees Celsius, or 114.6 Fahrenheit, in the town of Gallargues-le-Montueux near the Mediterranean Sea.

Weather service Meteo-France on Saturday lifted the red alert it had issued Friday for four southern French departments. Most of the country is still under an orange alert. Temperatures will drop to the mid 30s Celsius in the south, though Paris will be hotter today, peaking at around 38 degrees, Meteo-France said. Sunday will bring a noticeable drop in temperatures, it said.

In Spain, weather service AEMET has a red alert for Navarra, Catalonia, Aragon and La Rioja in the north of the country, with temperatures of up to 42 degrees forecast. Temperatures will begin to drop tomorrow and will be at more normal levels for most of the country on Monday, according to its website.

--With assistance from Jesper Starn.

To contact the reporter on this story: Phil Serafino in Paris at pserafino@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Celeste Perri at cperri@bloomberg.net, James Ludden

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