Europe wildfires: more than 300,000 fleece homes and holiday accommodation in France and Spain as fires rage | Wildfires
Opening summary
Hello and welcome back to our rolling coverage of the wildfires spreading through parts of Spain and France.
Thousands crowded into emergency shelters in France and Spain On Sunday after wildfires drove more than 300,000 people to flee their homes and holiday accommodation.
The blazes have destroyed houses, displaced people on a massive scale and triggered one of the largest peacetime civilian evacuation operations ever carried out in France, with major fires still burning in both countries.
One person was killed in eastern Spain and fresh evacuations were ordered around the French city of Bordeaux and the Spanish capital Madrid as authorities warned of another difficult night.
Families slept on camp beds in exhibition halls and gymnasiums after fleeing walls of smoke and flames that swept through forests and tourist areas, leaving residents and holidaymakers uncertain if they would be able to return.
According to the Gironde fire service in France, the blaze generated a rare “pyro cumulonimbus” cloud, creating its own winds and whirlwinds and making it “erratic and unmanageable,” said firefighter Capt. Nicolas Braz.
Spanish authorities meanwhile ordered new evacuations near Toledosouth-west of Madrid.
Key events
William Christou
Spain has declared a national emergency, the first time the country has ever done so over a wildfire.
France’s evacuations constituted “probably” the biggest peacetime evacuation the country has ever seen, its interior minister said.
Hundreds of firefighters have worked to contain the blazes, which have been fueled by persistent heatwaves and the climate crisis, but were still unable to stop their advance.
The French government has called in the military to help, deploying 1,500 soldiers, and has rushed 1.5m face masks to help protect people from smoke inhalation.
About 220,000 people have now been evacuated from the main forest fire raging in the south-west of France that threatens the city of Bordeauxaccording to French authorities.
The latest evacuations have been in villages around Bordeaux while 60km (37 miles) of the main A63 highway from Bordeaux to the Spanish border has been closed because of the fires, regional authorities said.
Tens of thousands more people have been evacuated from other wildfires in France and central Spain.
Some of the photos emerging from France and Spain painted a dramatic picture of the crisis.
Authorities in France’s Gironde region, where Bordeaux is located, issued overnight evacuation orders for five more localities including some on the city’s approaches.
Their statement said gusting winds fed the flames overnight, accelerating the spread of the fire that has been burning out of control since midweek.
Opening summary
Hello and welcome back to our rolling coverage of the wildfires spreading through parts of Spain and France.
Thousands crowded into emergency shelters in France and Spain On Sunday after wildfires drove more than 300,000 people to flee their homes and holiday accommodation.
The blazes have destroyed houses, displaced people on a massive scale and triggered one of the largest peacetime civilian evacuation operations ever carried out in France, with major fires still burning in both countries.
One person was killed in eastern Spain and fresh evacuations were ordered around the French city of Bordeaux and the Spanish capital Madrid as authorities warned of another difficult night.
Families slept on camp beds in exhibition halls and gymnasiums after fleeing walls of smoke and flames that swept through forests and tourist areas, leaving residents and holidaymakers uncertain if they would be able to return.
According to the Gironde fire service in France, the blaze generated a rare “pyro cumulonimbus” cloud, creating its own winds and whirlwinds and making it “erratic and unmanageable,” said firefighter Capt. Nicolas Braz.
Spanish authorities meanwhile ordered new evacuations near Toledosouth-west of Madrid.
