European wildfires evacuations top 250,000 as France fights Bordeaux threat
France used an A400M military plane against fires near Bordeaux as southern Europe’s evacuations passed 250,000 people.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
European wildfires evacuations have surpassed 250,000 people as France and Spain confront fast-moving blazes that have stretched emergency services and forced changes to the Tour de France, Fortune reported.
France on Saturday sent a converted A400M military transport aircraft to drop flame retardant over dry forests in the southwest, where officials feared flames could move toward Bordeaux. In Spain, about 70,000 people were evacuated in the central part of the country, and the municipality of Manises reported one death, the first fatality cited in the fires.
Where are the European wildfires evacuations happening?
The largest evacuations described by officials are in Spain and southwestern France. In France’s Gironde region, which includes Bordeaux, authorities ordered people between the fire line and the city to leave, including residents in some western suburbs and nearby towns and villages.
Gironde prefect Sophie Brocas said evacuation instructions were sent through emergency alerts to mobile phones. She said about 140 homes in the region had been destroyed.
Bordeaux has taken in thousands of evacuees at an exhibition center, where officials provided shelter and food. The city’s mayor said the site could be prepared for as many as 10,000 people if needed, while Bordeaux airport said it remained open even as bus and tram links were suspended.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the Gironde fire was about 30 kilometers, or 20 miles, west of Bordeaux and had weakened somewhat overnight. He also warned that a west-to-east wind shift could push the danger closer to the city, and said crews were cutting trenches, using retardants and taking other steps to block the flames.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu called the fires unprecedented and said the Gironde blaze had grown strong enough Friday to create its own winds. The government mobilized soldiers to help firefighters and sent 1.5 million masks to protect people from heavy smoke.
The A400M is a military cargo aircraft; in this case, France used a specially adapted version to carry and release fire retardant. Nunez said it joined at least 18 other aircraft and helicopters working over the Gironde fire.
The fire emergency also affected France’s biggest annual sporting event. Race organizers and the Paris police department said the Tour de France’s final stage on Sunday would be shortened so some security personnel could be sent to wildfire response work.
Instead of starting from Thoiry, west of Paris, riders will race only inside the capital on an 89-kilometer, or 55-mile, circuit. The planned route had been 133 kilometers, or 82.5 miles.
Spain deployed 2,600 firefighters, police and other emergency workers to two fires west of Madrid, supported by 19 water-dropping aircraft and helicopters. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said fires have burned 130,000 hectares of forest in Spain this year, compared with an annual average of 100,000 hectares over the past decade.
Sánchez said milder weather Saturday gave crews a chance to gain control. Madrid’s regional government said weaker winds and lower temperatures had reduced fire intensity.
Other European countries were sending or preparing aerial firefighting help to France and Spain, including Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Slovakia, Germany and Switzerland.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.