Lisbon, (AFP) - A sweltering heat wave continued in part of Western Europe on Saturday, sparking devastating forest fires .

Meteorologists expect temperatures to break records early next week.

In southwestern France, the level of preparedness of firefighters to put out fires on Saturday did not diminish, especially in the Gironde, where fires broke out in about 10,000 hectares of forest since Tuesday, in the context of a widespread heat wave where temperatures could reach 40 degrees Celsius locally, according to the report. French Meteorology.

In the Arcachon tourist basin, on the Atlantic side, efforts have slowed the fire's expansion.

"We are still at 3,150 hectares of scorched land, and this is a matter of relief, but the fire has not yet been brought under control," a state spokesperson said, praising the "massive and intensive mobilization" of firefighting personnel.

And repeated fires broke out in the last hours in terms of nearby beaches.

Inside, fires continue to advance in two small towns, with "more than 7,000 hectares" burned, according to the authorities.

The fires, which a thousand firefighters have been working to extinguish since Tuesday, have led to the evacuation of more than 12,000 people.

Portugal is relatively quiet, with only one major fire still active on Saturday, in the north of the country.

"We expect the fire to be contained during the day," said Civil Protection Commander Andre Fernandez.

Agence France-Presse journalists said it appeared the fire had lost its intensity in the early afternoon.

And while the firefighters were unable to reach the wooded hill from which white smoke was rising, a firefighting helicopter worked to limit the expansion of the fire.

The day before, a water bomber plane that was fighting a forest fire crashed in the Garda region (north), killing the pilot, its only passenger.

According to a report issued by the Portuguese Civil Protection, the fires last week left two dead and about sixty injured.

According to his estimates, since the beginning of the heat wave, the fires have destroyed between 12,000 and 15,000 hectares of forests and trees.

In Spain, dozens of fires are still burning from the north to the south of the country.

In the region of Estremadour (west), which borders Portugal, a section of the A5 motorway, which connects Madrid to the Portuguese border, has reopened to traffic after being closed for more than twelve hours due to a fire.

A fire near Malaga, in the far south of Andalusia, prompted the precautionary evacuation of more than 3,000 people, according to Andalusian emergency services.

In Greece, firefighters continued to fight an outbreak of a fire that broke out on Friday morning and caused a precautionary evacuation of seven villages in a rural area in the Rethymno Prefecture on the island of Crete.

Spain's Meteorological Agency has kept almost the entire country under various alert levels due to the high temperatures on Saturday, which topped 40°C in many areas and reached 44°C in some places.

In Portugal, only the southern Algarve region was not on high alert.

In the rest of the country, the Meteorological Institute predicted Saturday that temperatures could reach 42 degrees Celsius in some places.

In the United Kingdom, a crisis committee made up of British government ministers was due to meet on Saturday after the National Meteorological Agency issued its first "red" alert for extreme heat, warning of a "risk to life".

The Met Office said temperatures in southern England could reach 40 degrees Celsius for the first time on Monday or Tuesday, breaking the record of 38.7 degrees Celsius set in 2019.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has advised the city's residents not to use public transport these days except in cases of "extreme necessity".

Railway companies have also urged travelers to avoid travel.

Some schools in the south of England have told parents they will remain closed early next week.

This heat wave is the second in a month in Europe.

The increase in heat waves is a direct result of global warming, according to scientists, and greenhouse gas emissions increase their intensity, duration, and frequency.