Wildfires force huge exodus in France and Spain

Thousands have crowded into emergency shelters in France and Spain as wildfires compel more than 300,000 people to flee their homes and holiday rentals. The blazes have destroyed properties and triggered one of France's largest peacetime civilian evacuation operations, with significant fires still raging in both nations.

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You have to evacuate

One person died in eastern Spain, and new evacuations were ordered near Bordeaux in France and Madrid in Spain, as authorities cautioned of another challenging night. Families spent the night on camp beds in exhibition halls and gymnasiums, having escaped walls of smoke and flames that consumed forests and tourist areas. Residents and holidaymakers face uncertainty about their return.

"We were told: 'You have to evacuate'," said Frederic Tavitian, 70, who stayed at Bordeaux's exhibition center, now a large emergency shelter. "We saw columns of smoke, like a volcano about to erupt." Around 5,000 to 6,000 displaced individuals spent the night there. The Gironde fire service reported that the blaze generated a rare "pyrocumulonimbus" cloud, creating its own winds and whirlwinds, making the fire "erratic and unmanageable," according to firefighter Captain Nicolas Braz.

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We saw columns of smoke, like a volcano about to erupt.

Spanish authorities ordered further evacuations near Toledo, southwest of Madrid. "Today we are rather more pessimistic than we were yesterday," Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska stated. "The weather conditions have not helped at all," he added. Overstretched firefighters have battled the infernos around the clock for days, struggling to contain them. Two French firefighters died near Bordeaux this week. A separate wildfire near Valencia, Spain, claimed one life before being brought under control.

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It is devastation

France evacuated approximately 197,000 people from areas around Bordeaux, one of its largest peacetime evacuations. However, 3,000 were later permitted to return. "It is devastation," said Matthieu Plessis, 40, upon finding his house in Gironde reduced to smoldering ruins. "It was still there yesterday evening. It burned during the night." An additional 55,000 people were ordered to leave late yesterday. In Gironde alone, the total evacuated exceeded 200,000, according to authorities. In Spain, where 60,000 people were evacuated from villages west of Madrid, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez emphasized that the priority is "to save lives." At least eight municipalities near Toledo were subsequently ordered to evacuate. In Brunete, west of Madrid, Mayor Mar Nicolas expressed deep concern, stating, "Every year there are fires, but this one has been tremendous. It is a catastrophe."

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Every year there are fires, but this one has been tremendous. It is a catastrophe.