News Wrap: French firefighters battle massive wildfire

Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/news-wrap-french-firefighters-battle-massive-wildfire Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Transcript Audio In our news wrap Monday, firefighters in southwest France are battling a wildfire that's forced more than 200,000 people to flee, nearly 100 million Americans are under active heat alerts as climbing temperatures and severe humidity grip much of the country and traffic began flowing over a new bridge connecting the U.S. and Canada. Read the Full Transcript Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors. Geoff Bennett: Shifting our focus overseas now, today, firefighters in Southwest France are battling a wildfire that's burned an area four times the size of Paris and forced more than 200,000 people to flee. The country's interior minister said today the fire that's burning near the city of Bordeaux is no longer growing but remains dangerous. More than 100 homes in the small coastal town were burned. Meantime, Spain continues to battle its worst wildfire in recent history, including one that's burned an area five times the size of Barcelona. Spain's prime minister says climate emergency has created the conditions for the fires. Pedro Sanchez, Spanish Prime Minister (through translator): What we are living is not a succession of isolated events. This is no longer an exception. It is the new reality. Summers are becoming increasingly difficult, destructive, and therefore deadly. Geoff Bennett: Around a dozen countries have sent planes, helicopters and other help to Spain and France so far. Firefighters in both countries are racing to combat the blaze ahead of a heat wave that's expected in the region later this week. Meantime, nearly 100 million Americans are under active heat alerts as climbing temperatures and severe humidity grip much of the country for a third straight day. Extreme heat warnings were in effect today from California and Arizona in the West to Illinois and Kansas in the Midwest and Mississippi in the South. The heat index in parts of the North and Southwestern U.S. is expected to exceed 105 degrees. The extreme conditions are the results of the latest heat dome that traps hot air, causing more extreme temperatures. And, in Wisconsin, a tornado caused extensive damage today, leaving thousands there without power. Man: This is the Main Street in Menasha. Geoff Bennett: Video shows the wreckage left behind, with damaged homes and cars flipped over. The National Weather Service confirmed the tornado hit Winnebago County, about 90 miles northwest of Milwaukee, and described it as extremely dangerous. Weather officials are warning that damaging winds and hail could continue as storms move across the region. Traffic began flowing over a new international bridge connecting the U.S. and Canada today, even as trade tensions between the two trading partners rem