More than 200,000 people have been forced to flee their homes as devastating wildfires tore through southwestern France and central Spain, prompting mass evacuations and stretching emergency response teams to their limits.
French authorities evacuated about 141,000 residents from the Gironde and Landes regions, while another 60,000 people were displaced in central Spain as flames rapidly spread through forests and nearby communities.
Firefighters described the blazes as extremely difficult to contain, with scorching temperatures and the effects of climate change driving the fires’ intensity.
In Spain, emergency crews said the flames were advancing too quickly and violently for direct firefighting efforts.
In France, some residents escaped by boat after fire engulfed parts of the Atlantic coast, including popular tourist areas. Others fled in vehicles as police carried out door-to-door evacuations under skies filled with thick smoke.
Despite the scale of the disaster, authorities confirmed there were no fatalities, although dozens of firefighters sustained injuries while battling the infernos.
France’s Interior Minister, Laurent Nunez, said the wildfire had already destroyed about 140 square kilometres of land and was advancing toward the city of Bordeaux.
“We learned in the middle of the afternoon that, following the wind shift, it had become a large, self-sustaining fire that is extremely difficult to bring under control. It is now moving east, toward the Bordeaux metropolitan area.”
French President Emmanuel Macron ordered the activation of the government’s national crisis response unit and directed the armed forces to provide maximum assistance to emergency responders.
Nouvelle-Aquitaine Prefect Sophie Brocas described the wildfire as unprecedented.
“This fire that we have been living with and fighting against here in Gironde for three days has reached an unprecedented magnitude.”
The blaze began on Wednesday near the Cap Ferret Peninsula, roughly 60 kilometres from Bordeaux.
Authorities said at least 53 homes and a campsite have been destroyed, while 42 firefighters were injured during operations.
About 1,500 evacuees were transported across the sea to Arcachon using water taxis and larger boats as flames cut off land routes.
A resident of Arès, Laurent Moretti, described the evacuation as unlike anything the community had experienced.
“It’s quite impressive and even frightening. An evacuation on this scale has never happened before.
All we really hope is that the firefighters can quickly get it under control.”
