Wildfires

Wildfires - Madeira, Portugal

Three people are now known to have died in wildfires that have advanced upon Funchal, the capital of the Portuguese island of Madeira.

A thousand people have evacuated from homes and hotels. Several buildings have been destroyed, including the five-star Choupana Hills hotel.

Fires have burned for two days on the holiday island off north-west Africa.

Wildfires have also affected the Portuguese mainland in recent days as temperatures climb above 35C.

There were 109 active fires burning on Wednesday morning, according to Portugal's civil protection agency, with 11 causing particular concern - mainly in the north-west of the mainland.

In Arouca, dozens of people were forced to flee their homes overnight after strong winds fanned the flames of the fires. Some main roads have also been closed.

More than 3,200 emergency workers are battling the flames across the country.

Wildfires - California, USA

A Southern California wildfire has surged in size and put thousands of homes in potential peril.

Smoke plumes roiling from flaming ridges of the San Bernardino Mountains blew all the way across the Mojave Desert to Las Vegas as the blaze on Monday forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes. People in some 375 homes were ordered to evacuate, authorities said. 5 000 more were warned to be ready to leave their homes.

Firefighters aided by 16 aircraft battled flames that spread across nearly 10 square miles on the northern side of the rugged mountain range east of Los Angeles.