Wildfires force 250,000 to flee in Spain and France
Wildfires burning out of control in Spain and France have forced more than 250,000 people to flee, authorities in both countries said, as firefighters struggle to contain the flames. Spain evacuated about 70,000 people from the country's center, while France evacuated 197,000, including tens of thousands from the wine region around Bordeaux, The Guardian reported.
Spain declared a national state of emergency for the first time over a wildfire. The evacuations under way in France were likely the largest peacetime evacuation operation the country has ever seen, Spain's Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, said.
Hundreds of firefighters have battled the blazes, fueled by persistent heatwaves and the climate crisis, but have yet to halt their advance. Strong winds worsened the fires in Spain, where two of the country's three main blazes merged on Friday.
Spain's Health Minister urged Madrid residents to stay indoors because of poor air quality. "Avoid physical activity and staying outdoors. If you go out and notice smoke or ash, wear a mask," Mónica García said on X.
Spain's Interior Ministry said Saturday evening that a man had died in a fire in Manises, near Valencia. He was found in a car in a ravine, officials said. The fire was separate from the larger blazes raging west of Madrid, which have so far caused no reported casualties.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said a large military transport aircraft had joined 18 other planes in the long, difficult fight against wildfires in Gironde, in southwestern France.
France's government called in the army, mobilizing 1,500 soldiers, and rushed out 1.5 million protective masks to shield residents from smoke inhalation. Firefighters also dug trenches and used fire retardant, as forecasts showed winds pushing the flames closer to Bordeaux. Wildfires were reported about 20 miles west of the city.
The government ordered evacuations in the fire's path, including in Bordeaux's western suburbs. Police went door to door telling residents to leave. Scenes of panic unfolded as people abandoned their homes under a smoke-darkened sky.
Gironde's regional prefect, Sophie Brocas, said strong winds were pushing the fire toward the Bordeaux metropolitan area and that it had reached an unprecedented scale.
Authorities said the sudden outbreak caught both residents and officials off guard. Some people in France had to flee by boat as flames advanced on coastal towns.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the Gironde fire had grown so intense it began generating its own winds. "The fires affecting our country have reached an unprecedented level. Our priority is clear: protecting human lives," he wrote on X, urging residents to comply with evacuation orders without delay.
Successive, prolonged heatwaves across Europe have dried out forests, turning them into fuel for wildfires. Fires have already destroyed 130,000 hectares of forest this year in Spain, about a third more than the country's annual average, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said.
In France, fires have destroyed more than 98,000 hectares, which the French interior minister called a historic record.
Sánchez said cooler weather on Saturday gave firefighters a "window of opportunity" to help bring the fires under control. "We face a few difficult hours ahead, because although temperatures have dropped, we don't know exactly how the wind will behave or how strong it will be," he added.
Other European countries have sent help. Croatia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Slovakia have dispatched aid and firefighting aircraft to France and Spain.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pledged further assistance. "Europe stands with France and Spain in the face of the devastating fires affecting their territories. Five planes and two helicopters from the rescEU fleet are now deployed in France, and four planes are arriving in Spain today," she said on X.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
