MADRID — A man died after suffering burns and thousands fled their homes in Spain today as wildfires fuelled by a heatwave scorched southern Europe.

Heat alerts were issued in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and the Balkans, with temperatures expected to soar above 40C. One child died of heatstroke in Italy yesterday.

A man who suffered serious burns died in hospital as winds of up to 70 kilometres per hour whipped flames through Tres Cantos, a wealthy suburb north of the Spanish capital of Madrid, officials said.

He was the first fatality from dozens of wildfires that have hit Spain since a heatwave began last week.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on X that rescue services “are working tirelessly to extinguish the fires” amd warned: “We are at extreme risk of forest fires. Please be very cautious.”

Hundreds of residents of Tres Cantos left their homes due to the risk from the blaze, which was contained on Tuesday morning.

“In barely 40 minutes, the fire advanced six kilometres,” Carlos Novillo, Madrid’s regional environment chief, told reporters.

Elsewhere, about 2,000 people were evacuated from hotels and homes near the popular beaches of Tarifa in the southern region of Andalusia.