Wildfires threaten Bordeaux as France, Spain battle blazes
Manuel Ausloos And David Latona
Claret red/Madrid: Wildfires advanced into the outskirts of the historic French city of Bordeaux, in the heart of the country’s winelands, on Sunday as France and Spain battle fires that have forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people.
Nearly 220,000 people in France were evacuated, while in Spain more than 75,000 people were forced to flee their homes and about 30,000 more were ordered to shelter in place, authorities said.
In France, fires ravaged the Cap Ferret peninsula on the Atlantic coast, a popular tourist destination, and spread to areas around Bordeaux, where firefighters tried to prevent flames from reaching the regional capital.
“The fire is approximately 15 kilometers from the entry points into the main city,” Bordeaux Mayor Thomas Cazenave said on Sunday. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said that the situation in X remains “difficult”.
In the images published by the French police, police officers in the municipalities of Marcheprime and Cestas can be seen knocking on doors at night and evacuating houses one by one.
In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited fire-affected areas in Madrid and Toledo, as well as in Avila, one of the three central provinces affected by major fires, where more than 45,000 hectares (111,000 acres) burned.
Spain is fighting many fires
A separate fire in Spain’s eastern Castellon province has destroyed more than 4,300 hectares, regional officials said.
“The fire is out of control, it is technically very difficult to extinguish it, especially due to the adverse weather conditions that will continue throughout the day,” Valencia’s regional leader, Juanfran Perez, told reporters near the facility.
The fire also spread to the Sierra de Espadan natural park, where large pine trees and cork oak forests are located.
The fires are the latest disasters linked to prolonged drought and successive heat waves that scientists say are intensifying due to climate change.
According to the Reuters Climate Monitor, July high temperatures in both Bordeaux and Avila averaged 32 degrees Celsius; this was almost 6 degrees above the normal maximum temperature for the month between 1961 and 1990.
International aid mobilized
Within the scope of the European Union’s civil protection mechanism, Greece and Italy sent two Canadair firefighting planes each to Spain, while Portugal deployed more than 100 military personnel with equipment.
The Spanish interior ministry said in a statement on X that two more planes would arrive from Türkiye “as soon as possible”.
Sanchez said his government would unlock additional recovery funds by declaring a civil protection emergency for central states affected by wildfires on Tuesday.
He said more than 150,000 hectares of land had burned across Spain since January; This is six times the area destroyed in the same period last year.
While wildfires have long been a feature of Spain’s summers, Sanchez said the increasing scale and intensity fueled by increasingly extreme weather requires policies based on climate science.
New fires in Scotland and Italy
In the Scottish highlands, up to 500 firefighters have been battling a massive blaze in the Cairngorms National Park since July 15.
Residents of Nethy Bridge village, who were evacuated on Friday evening due to changes in weather conditions, were allowed to return to their homes late on Saturday.
In Italy, multiple forest fires have closed the southern section of the Rome ring road as well as the highway leading to the capital, causing major traffic disruptions.
Tourists were evacuated from seaside resorts due to a massive fire in the Gargano region in Italy’s southern Puglia region, the national fire service said. ANSA news agency added that some were taken by sea by the coast guard.
Speaking from his summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, outside Rome, Pope Leo offered moral support.
“In light of the devastating forest fires that have affected various parts of France and Spain in recent days, I would like to express my solidarity and sympathy and invite everyone to pray for those affected and the rescue workers involved in the relief efforts,” he said.
