Bordeaux wildfire evacuations widen as flames move toward city

Bordeaux wildfire evacuations expanded overnight Sunday as a major blaze in southwest France pushed closer to the city and forced 55,000 more people from their homes, authorities said. The Gironde fire has now displaced 220,000 people in that region alone, with more evacuations elsewhere in southwest France.

French officials said dry ground, strong gusts and changing winds made the fire harder to contain. The blaze has burned since midweek in Gironde, the department that includes Bordeaux and some of France’s best-known wine areas.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said after an overnight visit that conditions remained poor for crews. He wrote on X that the fire had grown fierce and unstable again, generating its own winds as it moved unevenly toward the Bordeaux metropolitan area, though he said it had eased by the end of the night.

Is Bordeaux being evacuated?

Bordeaux Mayor Thomas Cazenave said the fire was roughly 15 kilometers, or 9 miles, from the city at its nearest point, but he said no evacuation of Bordeaux was planned for now. Bordeaux has about 268,000 residents.

The city has opened an exhibition center as an emergency shelter, with cots and food for thousands of evacuees. Authorities said hundreds of older people were moved from care homes.

The Gironde prefecture said about 42,000 hectares, or 162 square miles, had burned, much of it forest and scrubland dried out by repeated heat waves. Officials said hundreds of homes have been destroyed, and 75 firefighters have received treatment for injuries.

Fire crews have been supported by 18 aircraft and helicopters, including aircraft sent from other European countries, officials said. Soldiers have also joined the response, and an A400M military transport plane dropped fire retardant over the area.

Farmers have helped by bringing water tanks to the fire lines. Wine grower Theo Hernandez said that assistance lets firefighters concentrate on the flames, calling the fire strong, fast-moving and widespread.

How can a wildfire make lightning?

Authorities said the Gironde blaze has repeatedly created firestorms, including on Saturday night, a phenomenon they described as a first for France. A firestorm can feed on intense heat and turbulent air, and officials said this one generated lightning that can ignite additional flare-ups.

Gironde fire chief Marc Vermeulen compared the experience to facing a hurricane. Gironde prefect Sophie Brocas said forecast heat beginning Tuesday could further strain firefighting efforts.

Brocas said evacuees would not be allowed to return until the fire is under control. She also urged visitors to stay away from the area, which includes Atlantic beaches and some of the country’s largest forested zones.

Other fires have added to the displacement. A blaze farther south in the Landes region has forced 36,000 people to evacuate, bringing the number of displaced people in southwest France to more than 250,000. In the Var region on the Mediterranean, nearly 3,000 people have also been evacuated.

Pope Leo XIV referred to the fires in France and Spain after his Sunday Angelus prayer, expressing solidarity with those affected and calling for prayers for rescue workers.

Spain is also battling fires. The government said 76,000 people have been evacuated and 30,000 others have been told to remain inside their homes, with fires burning around Madrid and evacuations in Valencia. Officials said a man died Saturday in a wildfire in Manises, near Valencia, the first recorded death in Spain’s latest fires.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Sunday that difficult hours remained, while adding that the night had helped efforts to control the flames. Rocío Domínguez, who fled Chapinería west of Madrid with her dog, said ash covered everything and evacuees did not know what would remain when they returned.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.