Forest fires are raging in France and Spain: More than 12,200 people were evacuated from France's Gironde region

Wildfires raged in southwestern France and Spain on Saturday, forcing thousands of people to be evacuated from their homes as blistering summer temperatures put authorities on alert in parts of Europe.

More than 12,200 people had been evacuated from France's Gironde region by Saturday morning as more than 1,000 firefighters battled to bring the flames under control, regional authorities said in a statement.

"We have a fire that will continue to spread as long as it is not stabilised," Vincent Ferrier, deputy prefect for Langon in Gironde, told a news conference.

In recent weeks, wildfires have ravaged France as well as other European nations like Portugal and Spain. On Saturday, the Gironde area had roughly 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) of land on fire, up from 7,300 hectares on Friday.

Firefighters in neighbouring Spain were tackling a number of fires on Saturday following days of extremely high temperatures that reached as high as 45.7 degrees.

According to data from the Carlos III Health Institute, the nearly seven days-long heatwave is to blame for 360 deaths due to heat-related causes.

According to a tweet from the area's emergency services early on Saturday, more than 3,000 people have now been forced to leave their houses due to a sizable wildfire close to Mijas, a town in the province of Malaga that is well-liked by visitors from northern Europe.

Many people were moved to a local sports complex for shelter.

"Everyone was told to leave as the cops drove up and down the street with their sirens blaring. Simply leave. No directions were given, according to British retiree John Pretty.

“It’s frightening . . . because you don’t know what’s happening,” said Belgian resident Jean-Marie Vandelanotte.

Both the middle Castille and Leon region and portions of the Extremadura region, near to the Portuguese border, experienced fires. Members of Spain's Military Emergency Unit were sent to these areas to assist in putting out the fires.

In Portugal, where temperatures dipped on Saturday after hitting about 40 degrees in recent days, there was some relief for firemen.

Data from the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests showed that wildfires destroyed a total of 39,550 hectares from the beginning of the year to mid-June, more than twice the area that was destroyed by fires during the same time previous year.

In the past week, fires have burned an area about two thirds of that size.

According to Portugal's health ministry, 238 persons, mostly older people with underlying diseases, died as a result of the heatwave between July 7 and July 13.

For areas of England on Monday and Tuesday, the national meteorological service in Britain has issued its first red "severe heat" warning.

The emergency reaction committee of the government was scheduled to convene later on Saturday owing to the potential for record-breaking temperatures.

The country's hottest temperature ever measured was 38.7 degrees, which was registered at Cambridge on July 25th, 2019.

Morocco's firefighters, military, police, and civil defence personnel are combating at least four fires that are burning across the nation's northern woods in North Africa.

Initial estimates state that since Wednesday night, at least 1,000 hectares of woodland had burned in Larache and Ouezzane.

High temperatures topping 45 degrees have recently slammed the nation, which is suffering from severe droughts.

More than 900 million people in China have been affected by the extreme heat this week. Authorities have issued warnings to older residents about the dangers of such scenarios as a result of the high temperatures' effects, which have garnered national headlines.

A firefighter tackles a forest fire around the village of Eiriz in Baiao, Portugal. Photograph: PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images)