More than 250,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in France and Spain as wildfires spread rapidly amid extreme temperatures, drought and strong winds. The figures so far point to a crisis that is exceeding normal response capacity and is also testing European emergency mechanisms.
France faces the largest fire ever recorded
According to French authorities, around 197,000 residents have been evacuated in areas near Bordeaux, where the largest fire ever recorded in the country is burning.
On the Cap Ferret peninsula, around 44,000 people have been evacuated, some of them by boat. So far, more than 50 homes have been reported destroyed.
Macron mobilizes the army and seeks EU assistance
President Emmanuel Macron has ordered the deployment of the army and has requested help from the European Union to cope with the situation.
In France, around 1,000 soldiers have been deployed, along with a military transport aircraft equipped to drop fire retardant. According to the official version, support with firefighting aircraft has also come from the European Union.
In Spain, two fire outbreaks have merged into a single blaze
The situation is also severe in Spain. More than 70,000 residents have been evacuated from areas west of Madrid, where two major outbreaks have merged into a single fire front.
According to the authorities, this fire is currently considered impossible to bring under control, while weather conditions are favoring the further spread of the flames.
Tens of thousands of hectares burned
According to official data, around 22,000 hectares have burned so far in France.
In Spain, in Guadalajara province alone, the flames have spread across around 32,000 hectares. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the priority remains saving lives and protecting populated areas, warning that the coming hours will be decisive because of strong winds.
The scale of the evacuations and the burned area point to an emergency hitting two major European countries at the same time, while control over the flames remains far off.
Despite the mobilization of hundreds of firefighters, the army and aerial resources, the speed at which the fires are spreading remains the factor driving developments on the ground.