Capitals, July 23 (SANA)Wildfires driven by an intense heatwave and dry winds swept across parts of southwestern Europe on Thursday, killing at least one person, destroying tens of thousands of hectares of land and forcing thousands of residents to evacuate, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

InItaly, dozens of wildfires broke out across the island of Sicily, where a firefighter was killed while battling the flames. The neighboring region of Calabria recorded more than 160 wildfires over the past 24 hours, AFP reported.

InFrance, firefighters continued efforts to contain two major blazes. One in the Gironde department has burned more than 1,000 hectares and remains out of control, while another in the Var department has scorched about 2,500 hectares and forced hundreds of people to evacuate. French authorities said wildfires have destroyed more than 44,000 hectares nationwide since the start of the year.

InSpain, hundreds of firefighters are battling wildfires near Madrid, particularly in the provinces of Guadalajara and Toledo, following recent deadly blazes in Zaragoza and Almería that claimed 13 lives.

Much of Europe has been affected by one of its most severe heatwaves on record, with several countries in western and central Europe reporting exceptionally high temperatures. Germany recorded a record high of 41.3 degrees Celsius.