India, Aug. 14 -- Firefighters across France and in central England struggled against multiple fires Friday, Aug 14 as a new wave of record-breaking heat baked a swath of Europe, their task further complicated by exceptionally parched landscapes.

With France experiencing its driest year ever, a new fire raced through woodlands overnight in the Landes region on the south-west coast. The blaze forced more than 500 people to evacuate their homes in the town of Luglon, as hundreds of firefighters were deployed to the area, the regional administration said Friday.

It's one of several fires scorching forests around France this week, including in normally cooler and wetter regions in the north and Brittany. A historic fire devoured forests nea...