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Evacuations across France and Spain
Violent wildfires in southern Europe forced mass evacuations across France and Spain on Friday, with the AP reporting that more than 200,000 people fled raging blazes in southwestern France and central Spain.
“More than 200,000 people flee raging wildfires in France and Spain, some escaping by boat More than 200,000 people flee raging wildfires in France and Spain, some escaping by boat ARCACHON, France (AP) — Massive forest fires forced the evacuation of some 200,000 people in southwestern France and central Spain on Friday, with residents fleeing towns near Madrid and Bordeaux as the flames raged out of control”
In France, the French interior ministry said 141,000 people fled homes in the Gironde and Landes departments, while in central Spain the Spanish interior ministry said 60,000 were forced from their homes.
France’s Interior minister Laurent Nunez told French TV channel Tf1 that the wildfire that forced evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula had swept across 140 square kilometers, with 110,000 people fleeing their homes in the Gironde region.
Nunez said the fire became “a large, self-sustaining fire that is extremely difficult to bring under control,” and that it was moving east toward the Bordeaux metropolitan area.
The AP also reported that some people fled by boat when flames swept through the touristic area on France’s Atlantic coast, with around 1,500 people arriving by sea in the city of Arcachon.
EU help and officials’ warnings
As the fires spread, France requested help through the EU’s civil protection mechanism, and Emmanuel Macron said France would receive EU reinforcements including two Croatian Canadair firefighting aircraft, two Portuguese Air Tractor aircraft, and two heavy-lift Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
In Spain, the government declared a national emergency for wildfires for the first time, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote on X: “We are experiencing a dramatic situation, not just in several Spanish regions but also in neighboring countries.”
The AP reported that French President Emmanuel Macron asked Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu to activate the government’s crisis response unit and instructed the armed forces to mobilize to provide maximum reinforcement to civilian emergency services.
Radio-Canada quoted Laurent Nuñez describing the situation as “entirely unprecedented,” saying, “We had never seen anything like this, a self-sustaining convective fire of this scale,” while also noting there were 32 active fires.
Radio-Canada reported that authorities said the city of Bordeaux was not currently threatened, and that they would protect it “with ground means, and with the help of military resources.”
What comes next for communities
With the fires still out of control, officials warned that some blazes were beyond direct attack and that defensive measures were being taken, as LBC quoted Carlos Novillo saying, “It is not possible to attack the fire in that area, so defensive measures are being taken.”
“The 3,500 residents of a municipality located 60 kilometers west of Madrid were evacuated as a precaution on Thursday, July 23, due to the progression of a forest fire, the emergency services announced”
The same LBC report said a wildfire burning near Madrid had reached its “peak” and was now “beyond” firefighters’ ability to extinguish, while also reporting that 25,000 people had been evacuated as the blaze moved toward Robledo de Chavela and Fresnedillas de la Oliva.
In France, the DW report said the Spanish government had decreed a national emergency of reach in Madrid and in the province of Ávila, and it said the decree left the response in the hands of the Unidad Militar de Emergencias (UME).
DW also reported that in Madrid the evacuations reached 10,000 people, and that the Ministry of the Interior said the decision was made “debido a la concurrencia de estos incendios, junto con unas condiciones meteorológicas especialmente adversas.”
Radio-Canada added that authorities ordered the departure of 5,000 vacationers from the El Escorial campsite northwest of Madrid, and it reported that more than 1,200 elderly people and disabled persons were evacuated from care facilities and nursing homes in the Madrid region.
