Fleeing a wall of flames: Tourists describe France wildfires escape
BBC South correspondent Joanna Kent, who was on holiday on the Cap Ferret peninsula earlier this week, recalled seeing the campsite abandoned after two vans full of police told tourists they had 30 minutes to get out.
While the fires don’t appear to be abating any time soon, the UK Foreign Office is not currently advising against travel to France or Spain.
Éléonore Caroit, France’s minister for international partnerships, advised tourists on Saturday: “All your regions are doing well, you see similar events in Spain and other countries. I’m in Paris and nothing is happening and most of the other regions are doing well, so please come to France and don’t cancel your travel plans.”
“But wherever you are, please stay informed about what might happen.”
In Madrid, the fires are in a wider area, far outside the city centre, and authorities are struggling to stop separate fires merging.
But the flames have already closed the U.S. space agency NASA’s facility 37 miles (65 km) west of the city.
Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso called the fire here “the worst in the history of the region”, with the region facing a “perfect storm” of high temperatures, relentless wind and converging fire fronts.
