Untamed wildfires in Spain, France force over 200,000 to flee

Out-of-control wildfires in Spain and France forced the evacuation of more than 200,000 people on Saturday, raging near Madrid and Bordeaux.

Paris mobilized its military to help firefighters who have been battling the blazes around the clock for two to three days.

How many people have fled the wildfires in Spain and France?

At least 167,000 people have been evacuated in France, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Saturday.

In Spain, more than 45,000 people were evacuated while another 20,000 were told to stay in their homes, according to the interior ministry. Together, the two countries have seen over 200,000 people flee or shelter in place.

What is happening with the wildfires in France?

Thick black ash coated roof terraces in the north of central Madrid, an AFP journalist saw, with residents forced to keep windows closed against throat-irritating smoke. In Bordeaux, southwest France, 3,500 people who fled nearby areas sheltered in the city's trade show complex. Many of those areas had been crowded for the peak summer vacation period.

Nunez said the French fires had ravaged nearly 98,000 hectares (242,000 acres), calling it a "historic record" nearly ten times the size of Paris. No deaths have been reported among civilians so far, but two French firefighters died earlier this week near Bordeaux.

What is the situation with wildfires near Madrid?

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, visiting the fire zone near Madrid, said the priority was to "save lives" while warning that a "complex" fight lay ahead. His government has declared a national emergency. The blazes west of Madrid have burned up to 25,000 hectares (62,000 acres), according to Spain's interior ministry.

Two of the three major wildfires there have merged into one and are threatening to join a third, forming a massive inferno just kilometres from the capital. Madrid regional government official Carlos Novillo said on Friday the fire front was "at its peak and... currently beyond the capacity of firefighters to contain."

How are France and Spain fighting the wildfires?

French President Emmanuel Macron has deployed 1,000 soldiers to help firefighters near Bordeaux. On Saturday, his government ordered an A400M military transport aircraft, an experimental fit-out capable of releasing 20 tonnes of fire retardant, to join the fleet of smaller planes already dousing flames. The head of the Paris fire brigade said around 100 firefighters from the French capital were being deployed to the southwest, adding to 45 firefighters and six vehicles already sent.

Spain and France have also requested and received EU help in the form of aircraft sent from other European countries. Emergency shelters were set up in schools and gymnasiums in southwestern France for tourists and residents. "We had no one to put us up," said Caroline Larrode, 49, who fled her home in Saumos for a Bordeaux hangar housing evacuees from the Arcachon Basin with her three cats.

What caused the wildfires in Spain and France?

The fires advanced quickly because of tinderbox conditions worsened by successive heatwaves the two countries have experienced since May. Scientists say global warming is increasing droughts and making weather emergencies more extreme and frequent. Europe is the fastest-warming continent due to climate change.

The Spanish government's delegate in Madrid, Francisco Martin, warned on Saturday that "erratic gusts" were making the fight difficult. He expressed optimism that a dip in temperatures offered "a real opportunity." An AFP journalist in the village of El Escorial, northwest of Madrid, said a historic monastery in the town was shrouded in smoke on Saturday.

Among those who fled a suburban town was audiovisual technician Luis, who had spent the afternoon helping evacuees from the village of Pelayos de la Presa before receiving the order to evacuate himself. "I cried at first because it's where I grew up. But now, it's more a feeling of anger and resignation, because there's nothing we can do as long as we're not allowed to go back and see what we'll find there," he told AFPTV.