Photos Of The Devastation Left Behind By Europe's Heat Wave-Fueled Wildfires

Wildfires across Europe eased Thursday as temperatures lowered, but a fire in Slovenia's border with Italy was still raging, forcing three villages to evacuate.

Firefighters in France were able to gain some control over two major blazes, and a fire in Spain that killed two was beginning to tame. No new fire outbreaks were reported in Portugal.

But as the fires begin to abate, photos are surfacing of the damage done. Aerial photos show homes and property decimated in Wennington, east London, after a fire broke out as the U.K. faced the hottest temperature ever recorded in the country on Tuesday. Other images show charred forests in Spain as well as burnt out vehicles.

Europe sweltered earlier this week under a dangerous heat wave that fueled several wildfires throughout the continent. As temperatures reached 104 degrees Fahrenheit, firefighters in Spain were battling nine blazes that forced the evacuation of 11,000 people, according to The Associated Press.

French firefighters worked for more than a week to fight fires in the dry pine forests of the southwestern region of the country. Two fires were burning in the Gironde region, forcing tens of thousands of evacuations as they burned at least 75 square miles. One of the fires burned up a campsite in Pyla sur Mer near Arcachon. The local fire service reported both blazes contained on Thursday.

Fires were contained in and around London after more than 40 homes and businesses were destroyed by fire as the London Fire Brigade saw its busiest day since World War II on Tuesday. Many of the fires around London first began in grassy areas and then spread to neighborhoods.

The wildfire burning in Slovenia's southwestern Kras region was the biggest since the country gained its independence in 1991, according to officials. Srecko Sestan, head of Slovenia's civil protection service, said that the fire is not even close to containment after consuming nearly eight square miles.

Though temperatures have cooled a bit, Madrid and surrounding areas of Spain are still expected to see triple digit temperatures into the weekend, and France will continue to experience temperatures into the 90s.

More than 1,700 people have died due to the heat wave in Spain and Portugal alone. The death toll may climb as the true devastation of the severe heat throughout the continent becomes clear.

View the slideshow above to see what Europe's wildfires left behind.

MORE FROM WEATHER.COM: Photos From Europe's Deadly Heat Wave

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