Geneva, July 18 (BNA): Swiss police ordered the evacuation of several mountain villages late Monday as a forest fire spread, while it was not immediately clear how many people were affected.
Reuters reported that about 200 firefighters, army, police and other partners worked alongside helicopters to put out the flames in the Valais canton throughout the afternoon but it continued to burn.
“The fire is spreading towards Red Morel Ridderhorn,” police said in a brief statement on Twitter at 18:30 GMT, and said they would evacuate the village of Red Morel, near the town of Brig, close to the Italian border. . It later added that three more villages would be evacuated and warned of rockfall.
Air Zermatt, which operates four helicopters, said efforts to put out the fire would continue throughout the night. Valais police released pictures showing a helicopter hanging with water cannons over a forest fire in the afternoon. A later shot showed a much larger fire with smoke eclipsing most of the forest.
Forecasts show that the region has been affected by the same Mediterranean heatwave that has affected southern Europe, with temperatures set to exceed 30°C in parts of the Valais canton this week.
RM
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