Czech and German firefighters battle blaze in national park

Firefighters reinforced by units from neighboring Germany battled a wildfire in a Czech national park on Tuesday which has destroyed houses and forced authorities to evacuate villagers. The blaze covering around 30 hectares in a popular tourist area on the German border sent smoke drifting across the country, including to the capital Prague located some 130 miles away, Prague and regional fire departments said on Twitter.

Firefighters, who suspect a park visitor started the blaze after leaving a campfire unattended over the weekend in the area known as Czech Switzerland, had the situation under control until changing winds fuelled the wildfire. A brutal heat wave last week with temperature spikes above 40 Celsius led to wildfires across swathes of southern Europe.

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