Amid heat wave: French cities ban cars

LISBON, Portugal — Firefighters in Portugal were close to bringing a major, four-day wildfire near a popular tourist area under control Monday as sweltering weather gripped much of Europe.

The Portuguese Civil Protection Agency said firefighters had contained 95 percent of the blaze in rolling hills by the country’s southern Algarve coast, though they were wary of reignitions and changes in the wind.

The news brought relief for locals and tourists who spent tense hours after dark Sunday as the huge blaze passed by the outskirts of Monchique, a town of 2,000 people 155 miles south of Lisbon.

In France, where four nuclear reactors have been temporarily closed because of the heat, three cities banned the most polluting cars from the roads because of heatlinked ozone pollution. In Paris and Strasbourg, the ban concerned vehicles 12 years and older.

The heat wave in France was expected to last until Thursday, with temperatures peaking today.

In Norway, authorities warned motorists to watch out for reindeer and sheep taking shelter from the heat in tunnels.

Neighboring Sweden has been fighting an uncommon number of wildfires this summer, even above the Arctic Circle, and a European Union official pointed his finger at climate change.

In Germany, the grape harvest started on its earliest date yet. The first grapes are used to make Federweisser, a young wine. The main harvest is expected to start in late August or early September.