- The fires are advancing inland, towards the ninth city in France.
- The flames are now 30 kilometers from Bordeaux and the suburbs have been cleared.
- Spain waiting for water-dropping planes from abroad.
BORDEAUX: Wildfires on the coast of southwestern France advanced inland towards Bordeaux on Saturday, forcing the evacuation of thousands of people in the city's suburbs, while in neighboring Spain strong winds complicated efforts to fight a massive fire near Madrid.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated in both countries because of those fires, the latest natural disasters linked to sustained periods of drought and successive heat waves that scientists say have been exacerbated by climate change.
“The fires ravaging our country have reached a level never seen before,” French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu wrote in X.
“We expect a fight that will be long and very difficult,” Interior Minister Laurent Núñez later told reporters, adding that Bordeaux airport had been closed.
France's armed forces have been mobilized to help overwhelmed fire departments, while Spain has declared its first national wildfire emergency, due to three fires, two of which merged on Friday.
Spain's Civil Protection Service said it expected four more water spill planes to arrive on Saturday, two from Italy and two from Greece, sent as part of a European Union response to the emergency. Firefighting aircraft from the Netherlands and Portugal have already been deployed in Spain.
Strong winds have fanned and spread fires in both countries. The coast near Bordeaux is a tourist hotspot with pine forests that can easily catch fire. The city is also famous for its wines of the same name, made in nearby vineyards.
So far, approximately 197,000 people have been evacuated from the Gironde and Landes regions, near Bordeaux, since wildfires broke out this week. More than 63,000 people have been evacuated or confined to their homes in Spain due to the three large fires that occurred there.
French Interior Minister Nunez said the fire was about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Bordeaux, adding that the situation was calmer on Saturday, but winds were expected to pick up again in the afternoon. The government has warned against road or rail travel to the area.
Spain warns against going out on the streets
Many Madrid residents have second homes in the densely populated area west of the capital, but still in the Madrid region where the two fires merged.
A third fire in the province of Ávila threatens to merge with the two in Madrid, Nicanor Sen, government representative for the Castilla y León region, told reporters on Friday.
Esteban Carrasco, owner of the Monasterio de Pelayos campsite west of the capital, told the national network. TVE About 30 mobile homes were burned when the fire reached the scene on Friday. About 200 campers of “humble origins” had to be evacuated, he added.
“It was a horrible disaster,” he said as he showed how mobile homes on one side of the road were destroyed, while those on the other side were left unscathed. No one was injured.
Although smoke filled the air in Madrid on Friday, it was clearer on Saturday, but Spanish Health Minister Mónica García warned against outdoor activities.
“Avoid physical activity and stay outdoors. If you go outdoors and there is smoke or ash, wear a mask,” he said in X.
