Over 220,000 residents have been forced to abandon their homes due to a wave of devastating fires that has engulfed Spain and France.
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The most alarming situation is reported near Madrid and in the southwestern sector of France, where armed forces and thousands of firefighters have been deployed to stop the advance of the fire.
In French territory, the evacuation order has affected around 60,000 citizens in the Bordeaux area, bringing the total number of displaced people in the Gironde and Landes regions to nearly 200,000. President Emmanuel Macron has ordered the involvement of military troops in crisis management operations.
Meanwhile in Spain, a powerful fire near the capital is being considered a force that exceeds any capability of firefighting crews. Three separate fires west of the metropolis have merged into a single front, dramatically worsening the emergency landscape.
The Spanish executive has declared a state of emergency nationwide. Around 25,000 citizens have been officially notified to leave, while nearly 40,000 others have been instructed to stay isolated in their homes.
Isabel Díaz Ayuso, president of the Community of Madrid, described this event as “the most severe fire incident in the entire history of the region,” attributing the cause to scorching temperatures, raging wind, and the merging of several fire lines.
According to emergency agencies, the fire is moving threateningly toward the municipalities of Robledo de Chavela and Fresnedillas de la Oliva, about 50 kilometers from Madrid.
Carlos Noviello, head of emergency management in the regional administration of Madrid, stated that the peak of the disaster has already been reached and that at this stage the flames are beyond any capacity to be controlled by firefighters.
He clarified that in some parts of the territory direct intervention has become impossible, while stressing that measures are now mainly oriented toward defensive actions.
The Military Emergency Unit (UME) has entered into action to block the advance of the flames, giving absolute priority to the safety of the areas surrounding the town of El Escorial.
At the same time, authorities are also monitoring another active fire in the neighboring province of Ávila, where the risk of merging with the massive front near Madrid remains high.
Fernando Grande-Marlaska, Spain’s interior minister, assured that everything possible is being done to avoid the merging of the two fire fronts into one.
Francisco Martín, spokesperson for the regional government of Madrid, warned that the number of displaced people could further increase, as the flames are spreading at great speed and covering considerable distances.
At least 6,000 hectares of land have been scorched so far in the Madrid territory, while around 9,000 hectares have burned in the province of Ávila, official sources say.
86-year-old Eulogio Cabrera was forced to leave behind his village west of the Spanish capital. From a gym turned into a shelter in Villamanta, where hundreds of evacuees are staying, he told AFP that if you don’t leave and try to face the fire, it simply swallows you.
The elderly man recalled that his family members tried to protect the house by continuously spraying it with water hoses, until the moment firefighters arrived and ordered them to leave immediately, adding that he had never before witnessed such horror.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has planned to visit the emergency coordination center on Saturday, having earlier described the situation as dramatic and having called on residents to be extremely careful.
Referring to the cause of the fires, the Civil Guard announced the arrest of one person and the continuation of investigations for another in connection with the fire in Burgondo, where it is suspected that the blaze was ignited as a result of irresponsible use of heavy machinery during a period when such work is prohibited.
