Spain declares national emergency as wildfires force 220,000 to flee across Spain and France

Want LBC stories before everyone else? Set us as your Preferred Source on Google

Three blazes near Madrid, two of which merged on Friday, prompted Spain to declare its first national emergency over a wildfire.

In France, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu wrote on X that: "The fires that are hitting our country have reached a level that has never been seen before."

So far this July, high temperatures have averaged 32.2 degrees Celsius in the region of France hit by the fires, 7.3 degrees above the month's average high between 1961 and 1990.

"We expect a fight that will be long and very difficult," Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said.

France's armed forces have been drafted in to help overwhelmed fire brigades. On Saturday afternoon, an A400M military transport aircraft, the biggest in France's fleet, joined the effort by dumping liquid over a flame-hit forest.

In Spain, the country's Civil Protection Service was expecting four more water-dumping aircraft 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.

Read more: Police Scotland declares major incident as Cairngorms wildfire rages into tenth day

Read more: Read more: Residents evacuated as fertiliser explodes during 'significant' industrial unit blaze

High winds have stoked and spread the fires in both countries. The coast near Bordeaux includes pine forests that can catch fire easily.

French authorities have now ordered the evacuation of almost 60,000 people near the city, raising the total number of people told to evacuate due to wildfires in France and Spain to over 220,000.

French President Emmanuel Macron has mobilised the military to assist in the response, as around 200,000 people have been evacuated from the Gironde and Landes regions of south-west France.

Meanwhile, a fire near Madrid is "beyond the capacity" of firefighters to contain, according to Spanish officials, after three fires west of the capital have merged.

Spain's government has now declared a national emergency.

Around 25,000 people have been evacuated and 40,000 told to stay indoors as the blaze moves towards the towns of Robledo de Chavela and Fresnedillas de la Oliva, west of the Spanish capital.

A further 20,000 people have been told to remain indoors, while emergency crews focus on containing the fire and protecting communities in its path.

"It is not possible to attack the fire in that area, so defensive measures are being taken," Carlos Novillo, the regional government's emergency management chief, said.

She described the incident as the "worst fire in the history of the region", with the area facing a "perfect storm" of high temperatures, relentless wind and merging fire fronts.

It comes as wildfires sweeping south-west France and central Spain have driven more than 200,000 people from their homes.

In south-west France alone, 110,000 residents have been evacuated after fires tore through more than 14,000 hectares of land.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said around 50 firefighters had been injured as crews battled what he described as an unprecedented “convective fire”.

He said the blaze was “self-sustaining” and changing direction as it moved east towards the Bordeaux metropolitan area.Bordeaux Airport has been closed, while military resources are being deployed to support exhausted emergency crews.

France has also appealed for international assistance, with European countries responding to the call.

The latest figures put the number of people evacuated across France and Spain at around 200,000.

Earlier, a fast-moving wildfire forced more than 10,000 people from homes and campsites near France's Atlantic coast.

The upmarket tourist destination of Lege-Cap Ferret, known as the French Hamptons, is in the middle of a massive evacuation effort, with forests, villas and tourist accommodation burning in flames.

People were forced to flee by boat in some areas and France has requested aid from the EU's civil protection mechanism - calling on fire-fighting machinery from across the continent.

"France has requested the activation of the European Union's civil protection mechanism. We will soon be able to count on reinforcements from two Croatian Canadair aircraft, two Portuguese Air Tractor planes, as well as two heavy Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia," Mr Macron posted online.

Flames have burned over 10,000 hectares of land in the Gironde area, and at least 40,000 people have been evacuated from the Cap-Ferret peninsula.