France wildfires burn a record 98,000 ha; Spain fires reach 152,000 ha as more than 300,000 evacuated
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "France wildfires burn a record 98,000 ha; Spain fires reach 152,000 ha as more than 300,000 evacuated")
People watch a raging fire in France Photograph: (AFP)
France and Spain are continuing to battle some of Europe's worst wildfires. Hundreds of thousands of hectares have burned, and an estimated 300,000 people have been evacuated. Several records are being broken amid disruption across both countries.
France and Spain are waking up to yet another day of wildfires on Monday (Jul 27), as more than 300,000 people have been evacuated from affected regions. The fires are turning out to be among the worst in Europe in recent years, severely affecting daily life and tourism in both countries. In France, nearly 98,000 hectares or 242,000 acres have burned, a historic record, according to French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez. In Spain, around 152,000 hectares have burned nationwide so far this year, which is more than six times the area burned during the same period last year and well above the annual average of around 100,000 hectares.
Southwestern France worst-affected
Around 30 wildfires burnt simultaneously in southwestern France. More than 32,000 hectares have burned in the Gironde and Landes areas, destroying an estimated 240 buildings and homes. The affected area is roughly three times the size of Paris. Reports said more than 220,000 people have been evacuated from Gironde alone, making it one of the largest peacetime civilian evacuations in modern French history. Full evacuation orders were issued for the Cap Ferret peninsula, home to around 40,000 people, with some residents rescued by boat. Further evacuation orders were issued overnight for nearly 57,000 people in the western suburbs of Bordeaux.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the Gironde fires "remained extremely violent and unpredictable", moving "erratically towards Bordeaux". The A63 motorway, which connects Bordeaux with the Spanish border, has been closed over a 60-kilometre stretch.
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Around 2,500 firefighters, 1,500 military personnel, 1,200 police officers and an Airbus A400M military transport aircraft have been deployed for firefighting and rescue operations. The aircraft has been used to drop fire retardant, marking the first such operational use of the A400M for this purpose in France. Last week, two French firefighters died while battling the blazes.
Firefighter Captain Nicolas Braz said the fires had created their own winds, "complete with whirlwinds... erratic and unmanageable."
Spain fires burn 152,000 hectares
In Spain, fires west of Madrid and in the province of Ávila have burned around 45,000 hectares.
The Ávila wildfire has been reported to have an 82,000-hectare perimeter and was described as potentially the worst fire in the history of the region and among the largest wildfires ever recorded in Spain.
Around 75,000 people have been evacuated from the Madrid, Ávila and Toledo areas. An additional 15,000 people have been evacuated from parts of Castellón and Valencia. Tens of thousands more have been ordered to remain indoors because of smoke.
Spain has reported at least two deaths: one in the Valencia-Manises area and another in the eastern province of Castellón.
Spain has declared a national state of emergency, with fires near Madrid described as being "beyond the capacity" of firefighters at their peak after multiple blazes merged.
Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso called it the "worst fire in the history of the region", saying the area was facing a "perfect storm" of high temperatures, strong winds and merging fire fronts.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the priority is to save lives, while warning that difficult hours lie ahead. Civil Protection chief Virginia Barcones described the Ávila fire as like battling a "monster".
European Union responds as fires hit other countries
The European Union has mobilised aircraft and firefighting teams from Greece, Italy, Portugal, Türkiye, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania to help tackle the fires. Germany has also announced assistance for the fire-ravaged regions.
Wildfires are also being reported in Sicily in Italy, Germany, Romania and the United Kingdom amid a hot summer.
According to data from the European Forest Fire Information System, 254,388 hectares had burned across the European Union as of July 22.
