More than 300,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in France and Spain as wildfires continue to rage across both countries. The blazes have triggered one of the largest peacetime civilian evacuation operations ever carried out in France, with at least 240 homes in the Gironde department completely destroyed.
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, warned that “difficult hours” lay ahead, but noted that overnight efforts to control the fire had been positive. Speaking during a visit to Ávila, he urged people to remain cautious and stay informed, criticising the spread of fake news on social media about the fires’ causes.
The head of Spain’s civil protection service, Virginia Barcones, described the fire as a “monster” creating a “massive emergency”, with a perimeter of 280 kilometres encompassing 77,000 hectares. Madrid’s regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, announced a €1m emergency fund for affected livestock farmers and said rebuilding infrastructure was a priority.
A senior officer from Spain’s military emergencies unit, Lt Col Alfonso Arribas, said significant progress had been made and that the entire fire front was “effectively contained”, although some hotspots remained. The EU commissioner for crisis management, Hadja Lahbib, warned that another heatwave was forecast, potentially leading to more wildfires across Europe.
Spain’s King Felipe spoke to evacuees, noting the incalculable loss of natural heritage and personal possessions. In France, the Gironde wildfire has spread to within 15km of Bordeaux’s outer suburbs, but the mayor confirmed there were no plans to evacuate the city itself.
