Uncontrollable wildfires in France and Spain force evacuation of 220,000 people

So far, over 200,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in southwestern France and central Spain, as massive and uncontrollable fires continue to engulf forests.

The figure grew even larger after more than 60,000 residents were evacuated overnight from the Bordeaux area on France’s Atlantic coast.

The rapid spread of the flames led authorities in Madrid to declare a state of emergency, while in France orders were given for total evacuation of certain areas, including movement by land and sea. According to international media reports such as BBC and The Guardian, the evacuation was carried out in turns, village by village, on the Cap Ferret peninsula in southwestern France.

During the night in the Gironde department, several municipalities located near or within the Bordeaux metropolitan area were evacuated: Saint-Médard-en-Jalles (33,000 inhabitants), Saint-Jean d’Illac (9,600), Martignas-sur-Jalles (8,000) and Saint-Aubin de Médoc (7,800). According to the prefecture, the fire that started north of the Arcachon basin destroyed 19,000 hectares and 100 buildings over three days.