Wildfires Force 300,000 to Evacuate in France and Spain

French and Spanish authorities ordered further evacuations overnight, with more than 300,000 people now displaced. Fires have advanced to within 15 kilometers of Bordeaux.

French and Spanish authorities ordered further evacuations overnight, pushing the total number of people displaced by wildfires to more than 300,000.

In France's Gironde region, authorities said a further 55,000 residents were evacuated from towns surrounding Bordeaux, bringing the total evacuated there to more than 220,000. The fires are now within 15 kilometers of the city center, according to Bordeaux Mayor Thomas Cazenave. The blaze has created a rare pyrocumulonimbus cloud, generating its own winds and making the fire erratic and difficult to contain.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez described the situation as difficult. At least 68 firefighters have been injured battling the blaze. Thousands of displaced residents spent the night at Bordeaux's exhibition center, which was converted into a shelter. Around 1,400 firefighters are tackling the blazes in France, with 1,500 soldiers deployed to support the effort.

In Spain, the interior ministry confirmed evacuations in towns further west than previously affected areas. Spanish public broadcaster RTVE reported that more than 100,000 people have been evacuated so far. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the priority is to save lives.

Fires west of Madrid have burned up to 25,000 hectares, and two of the three major blazes there have merged, threatening to form a larger inferno near the capital. Three provinces — Madrid, Ávila and Toledo — have been affected. The Spanish government has declared the fires a national emergency.

Two deaths have been reported. A man died in Manises, near Valencia, and a second person was killed in Castellón.

More than 150,000 hectares have burned across Spain since January — six times the area destroyed during the same period last year.

In France's Landes region, authorities allowed around 3,000 residents to return to some neighborhoods in Biscarrosse on Sunday evening, after those areas were declared safe. The return, which began at 8 p.m., was limited to specific sectors and carried out under police supervision. Other areas remain inaccessible.

Both countries have requested additional aid from the European Union. Greece and Italy have each sent two Canadair firefighting aircraft to Spain, while Portugal has deployed more than 100 military personnel and equipment.

The fires follow successive heatwaves since May and a prolonged drought that scientists say have been intensified by climate change. Europe is the fastest-warming continent.