France and Spain wildfires force evacuations of more than 80,000
Officials sought EU firefighting help as wind and drought pushed fires through forests near Bordeaux and Madrid.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
3 min read
France Spain wildfires evacuations surpassed 80,000 people Friday as authorities in both countries moved residents, tourists and care-home patients away from advancing fires, AFP reported. Officials said strong winds and drought-dried forests were helping the blazes spread in southwest France and around Madrid.
France ordered 40,000 people to leave the Cap Ferret peninsula south of Bordeaux, an area known for expensive coastal homes, according to AFP. Another 23,000 people were ordered out of homes and campsites farther south in the Landes region.
In Spain, officials said more than 19,000 people in the Madrid region had either been evacuated or told to remain indoors. Two of three large fires west of Madrid had joined into a single front and were threatening Navas del Rey, about 50 kilometers from the capital, officials said.
Why are France and Spain wildfires forcing evacuations?
Authorities said the immediate danger came from fast-moving flames driven by strong winds through forests left dry by drought. The World Weather Attribution group said in a study published this week that drought linked to human-caused climate change had increased wildfire risk this year, AFP reported.
Some parts of Europe have already had at least two heat waves since May, according to AFP. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the country and nearby regions were facing a “dramatic situation” as smoke from uncontrolled fires reached Madrid.
What is happening in southwest France?
On Cap Ferret, 27 boats carried hundreds of people away from the fires while drivers used the only road still open off the peninsula, AFP reported. French authorities opened emergency shelters in schools and gyms for displaced residents and holidaymakers.
French fire chief Marc Vermeulen said the blaze at one point consumed between 800 and 1,000 hectares of forest an hour. French officials said more than 50 houses had been destroyed and dozens more damaged.
About 1,000 firefighters, gendarmes and specialist troops were fighting the French fires, with reinforcements sent from other parts of the country, AFP reported. The fires at Cap Ferret and near Biscarosse in the Landes had burned more than 13,500 hectares, according to French figures cited by AFP.
How bad are the fires near Madrid?
Madrid regional president Isabel Diaz Ayuso described the fires around the capital as the worst in the region’s history, AFP reported. Authorities moved more than 430 older people and people with disabilities out of five care facilities as Guardia Civil officers wearing masks helped residents in wheelchairs onto buses.
Jose Cobos, who fled southwest of Madrid with his wife and three dogs, told Antena 3 television that the smoke was so thick people could not breathe. About 6,000 hectares had burned in the Madrid region, according to figures reported by AFP.
Spain has faced several wildfires in recent weeks. AFP reported that the largest active fire remained in Guadalajara province, about 100 kilometers north of Madrid, where roughly 32,000 hectares had burned over the past week.
What help is the European Union sending?
The European Commission said it would send four water-bombing aircraft to Spain and three to France after both governments requested assistance, AFP reported. The aircraft are meant to reinforce national crews as fires continue to burn across multiple regions.
Wildfires have also hit Italy this week, including dozens on Sicily, according to AFP. Three firefighters have died while fighting fires in France and Italy: one in Sicily and two near Bordeaux airport.
This story draws on original reporting from Phys.org.