France and Spain are battling catastrophic wildfires that have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes, with French authorities describing the situation as one of the country’s largest post-war evacuations.
In France, the massive wildfire burning on the outskirts of the Arcachon Bay and threatening the Bordeaux metropolitan area has scorched more than 420,000 hectares, according to authorities in the Gironde region.
Since Wednesday, approximately 220,000 people have been evacuated, making it one of the largest wildfire evacuations ever organised in France.
The A63 motorway between Bordeaux and Spain remains closed along a 60-kilometre stretch as firefighters continue battling the advancing flames.
The blaze is already among the largest recorded in France since World War II. The deadliest wildfire in the country’s history, in 1949, destroyed around 500,000 hectares in the Landes forest.
Authorities said the fire spread rapidly overnight due to dry vegetation and wind gusts reaching 40 km/h, pushing the flames southeast toward the municipality of Marcheprime.
In an effort to contain the blaze, France deployed an Airbus A400M military transport aircraft capable of dropping up to 20 tonnes of water or fire retardant the first time the aircraft has been used in such an operation.
Residents of Marcheprime were warned to prepare to evacuate as the fire approached the town.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu described the emergency as “historic”, saying more than 1,400 firefighters, 1,500 military personnel and 1,700 members of the security forces had been deployed.
Authorities also arrested two restaurant workers, aged 19 and 21, on suspicion of starting one of the fires by setting off fireworks.
A 33-year-old ambulance driver was separately arrested near Bordeaux on suspicion of accidentally starting another wildfire while intoxicated.
Spain records first wildfire fatality
In Spain, strong winds continue to hamper firefighting efforts as several wildfires remain out of control, according to the Military Emergency Unit (UME).
More than 88,500 people have either evacuated or been forced from their homes in the Ávila province and the Madrid region after fires burned approximately 450,000 hectares.
Spain also recorded its first wildfire-related death after a 70-year-old man was found trapped inside his vehicle in a ravine during a wildfire near the city of Manises, Valencia. Authorities said the incident was unrelated to the major wildfire burning near Madrid.
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