Massive, uncontained wildfires in Spain and France have forced nearly 200,000 people from their homes, with France appealing for international assistance and Spain declaring a national emergency.
Madrid, Spain / Bordeaux, France – Web Desk: Nearly 200,000 people have been forced from their homes and holiday resorts as massive, uncontained wildfires continue to spread across Spain and France, prompting Spain to declare a national emergency and France to appeal for international assistance.
Spanish firefighters were working on Saturday to bring under control a major blaze raging west of Madrid, though officials warned that erratic winds could fan the flames further as thick grey smoke blanketed the sky over the region. Carlos Novillo, the Madrid regional government’s emergency management chief, said the wildfire near the capital was at its peak and currently beyond the capacity of firefighters to contain.
Two separate wildfires merged on Friday into a single large blaze, which was also nearing another fire burning in the neighbouring Castilla y León region. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was scheduled to attend an emergency planning meeting on Saturday morning in Cenicientos, a village at the centre of the fire zone, and address the media afterward.
In France, authorities evacuated thousands of residents on Saturday from suburbs near Bordeaux as fires in the surrounding area continued to burn without signs of slowing. Officials overseeing the wider Bordeaux region confirmed that the areas of Le Haillan, Eysines and Merignac were being cleared as a precaution, given the region’s importance as both a wine-producing area and a major tourist gateway to the Atlantic coast.
Around 44,000 people fled the upmarket Cap Ferret peninsula south of Bordeaux after flames threatened the only road leading out of the area. Boats were used to move hundreds of residents to safety while others left by car, and more than 50 homes on the peninsula — known for its high-value properties — have been destroyed.
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said more than 141,000 people had been evacuated from the Gironde and Landes regions, describing the fires as having reached an unprecedented level for the country. The French army has been deployed to assist firefighting efforts, and French President Emmanuel Macron has formally requested assistance from the European Union.
In total, at least 141,000 people have been evacuated in southwestern France and roughly 25,000 in the Madrid region, including more than 1,200 elderly and disabled residents, according to French and Spanish officials. Scientists have linked the scale of this year’s blazes to repeated heatwaves since May and a broader drought pattern tied to human-driven climate change, a link highlighted in a study published this week by the World Weather Attribution group.
