Villages evacuated by Swiss police due to wildfire

Swiss police ordered the evacuation of multiple mountain villages as a forest wildfire spread late on Monday, although the exact number of people affected was not immediately known.

Throughout the afternoon, approximately 200 firefighters, army personnel, police, and other partners, along with helicopters, worked to extinguish the flames in the Valais canton. However, the fire continued to burn.

In a brief statement on Twitter at 18:30 GMT, police announced that the fire was spreading towards Ried-Morel-Riederhorn. They stated their intention to evacuate the Ried-Morel village near Brig, which is located close to the Italian border.

Subsequently, police added that three other villages were also going to be evacuated, while cautioning about the risk of rockfalls.

Air Zermatt, which operates four helicopters, confirmed that firefighting efforts would continue overnight. Valais police shared pictures on social media, depicting a helicopter with a water cannon battling the forest fire during the afternoon. A later image showed a significantly larger fire with smoke engulfing a substantial portion of the forest.

The affected area is experiencing the same Mediterranean heatwave that is impacting southern Europe, with forecasts indicating temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius in parts of the Valais canton throughout the week.

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