Wildfires burn overnight in Switzerland as police evacuate villages

Swiss police ordered the evacuation of several mountain villages late on Monday (17 July) as a forest fire spread, which was still burning on Tuesday morning.

Around 200 firefighters, army, police and other partners worked alongside helicopters to douse the flames in the canton of Valais throughout the afternoon and during the night.

“The fire is spreading towards Ried-Morel-Riederhorn,” police said in a brief statement on Twitter, saying they would evacuate the village, near the town of Brig, which is close to the Italian border.

It later added that three other villages were to be evacuated and warned of rockfalls.

The area is affected by the same Mediterranean heatwave affecting southern Europe, with temperatures set to exceed 30C in parts of the Valais canton this week, forecasts show.