France Wildfires Force Evacuation of 200,000 as Flames Approach Bordeaux
France wildfires have forced more than 250,000 people to flee in south-west France as strong winds push flames towards Bordeaux, with nearly 98,000 hectares burned so far this year marking a historic record. [1] Around 200,000 people have been evacuated in the Gironde and Landes regions of France, with seven towns west of Bordeaux ordered to evacuate overnight. [1] Firefighters are struggling to contain the blazes, which are 40-50km from Bordeaux, with smoke reaching the city and officials stating they are far from having the fire under control. [1]
Evacuations Reach Over 250,000 Across France and Spain
More than 250,000 people fled towns and villages in Spain and France into the weekend as uncontrolled wildfires moved ever closer to Madrid and Bordeaux, metropolitan areas that are home to more than 8 million people combined. [3] In France, around 200,000 people have been evacuated in south-western regions of Gironde and Landes regions. [1] Authorities ordered the immediate evacuation of some western suburbs of Bordeaux, France, famed for its wines, in an area that includes the regional airport. [3] About 197,000 people were evacuated in the Gironde and surrounding areas, French Minister of the Interior Laurent Nunez said. [3] Overnight, seven towns west of Bordeaux were told to evacuate residents. [1] In Spain, where a state of emergency has been declared, nearly 60,000 people have been evacuated from the Madrid and Ávila regions, while more than 28,000 remain confined to their homes, according to Spain's Interior Ministry. [1] Another 30,000 people were evacuated across Avila Province and the region west of Madrid, after 63,000 were evacuated or told to stay indoors as of Friday night. [3] Evacuees have in many cases been taken to municipal sports centers as a precautionary measure, mostly to avoid exposure to heavy smoke, which travels faster than flames. [3]
Record Area Burned in France
Nearly 98,000 hectares have burned across the country since the beginning of 2026, according to France's Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez. [1] As of yesterday, almost 98,000 hectares of land have been scorched in the blazes, a record in France, he added. [3] The threat posed by a wildfire raging in the southwestern French department of Gironde remains very serious, the top regional official, Sophie Brocas, said Saturday. [2] Sánchez said 130,000 hectares of land had been burned in Spain so far this year, ahead of an annual average of 100,000 hectares for the country over the last decade. [1] Hadja Lahbib, the EU's commissioner for crisis management, said it is likely that the damage from wildfires in Europe will surpass previous records. [1] She said fires had started earlier in the year when, in April, the Netherlands activated the EU's civil protection mechanism which triggers support and reinforcements from other countries. [1] Last year, one million hectares burned during the summer and so we are expecting to face another historical, sad record because the season has started earlier in the year, she told the BBC. [1]
Wildfires burn nearly 98,000 hectares in southwest France forcing mass evacuations near Bordeaux. — Source: france24
Firefighters Struggle Against Winds Near Bordeaux
Firefighters are struggling to contain wildfires in south-west France as strong winds push flames towards the city of Bordeaux, with one official saying they are far from having the fire under control. [1] As of Saturday morning, the wildfire was around 40km to 50km away from Bordeaux. [1] Still, the wind was blowing smoke towards the city and people reported an acrid smell in the air. [1] The threat remains very serious. We are still facing a grave situation, Sophie Brocas said, adding however that the blaze has lost some of its intensity thanks to lower temperatures and increased humidity. [2] While increased humidity overnight means the conflagration in Gironde is no longer convective, or generating its own winds, the effort to get it under control will be long and very difficult, Nunez said. [3] In Spain, fires continued near Madrid but the regional government said there had been some progress. The change in weather conditions - less wind, higher humidity and lower temperature - has greatly benefited the fight against the forest fires, which have advanced little and decreased in intensity, it wrote on X. [1] Speaking from Cenicientos, south-west of Madrid, Prime Minister Sánchez said right now, we have a window of opportunity in order to tackle against the wildfires, protect and save lives and effectively try and control the fire. [1] It's true that temperatures have dropped a little bit. But still the wind is making it difficult and there may be thunderstorms as well, he added. [1] Unpredictable winds mean we're going to have a challenging few hours, he added. [3]
Military and EU Support Deployed
The French government has mobilised its military to help with the response and extra reinforcements from the army have been sent to help firefighters by clearing brush and creating fire breaks. [1] The French government ordered more than 1,000 military personnel to support firefighters, Nunez said, adding that an Airbus A400M military transport plane would join Canadairs and other aircraft helping contain the fires in the coming hours. [3] France has activated the civil protection mechanism and will receive water bombers, comprising three Canadairs planes from Croatia and two Air Tractors from Portugal, as well as Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and 40 members of a Romanian forest fire team. [1] EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said 11 planes and helicopters have also been sent to France and Spain from the EU's firefighting fleet. [1]
Tour de France Stage Shortened and Emergency Meeting Called
The final leg of the Tour de France, due to take place Sunday, has been shortened from 133km to 89km so that security forces can be redeployed to areas affected by wildfires, organisers and police have said. [1] French President Emmanuel Macron is set to have an emergency meeting with ministers as 30 or so fires rage across the country - a situation which the government said is totally unprecedented. [1] Madrid's regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso described the situation as the worst fire in the history of the region. [1] Madrid's air quality monitoring system recorded a sharp deterioration in the city's west yesterday morning, with the smell of smoke hanging in the air near the Royal Palace in Madrid. [3] Authorities expect two separate fires raging there to merge at some point. [3] The municipal government in Madrid closed off parts of the city's main parks, telling people to keep away from trees as strong winds were forecast. [3]
Tourists Describe Panic and Escape
One tourist who fled an approaching wildfire near Bordeaux with his family described the scale of the blaze as frightening. [1] Spencer Randall told the BBC his family evacuated in the early hours of Saturday to an area 100 miles east, but they can still smell the wildfires from here. [1] It's quite strong winds fanning the flames, just terrifying, he said. [1] A British couple holidaying in Bordeaux said they noticed the flames get worse on Friday night, as the fire approached. [1] At about seven o'clock you could smell smoke. We thought someone was having a barbecue, Maisie told BBC Newsbeat from their holiday rental. [1] Her partner, Caleb, said the ash has now covered the pool in the house and turned their feet black when walking outside. [1] The smoke really hits your lungs right away, they added. [1] Zac Morrison, who arrived in Cap Ferret on Thursday, woke up to two text alerts at 04:00 and 06:00 local time ordering him to evacuate by all means necessary. [4] We had the gendarmerie going door to door, he told BBC Your Voice. [4] It was something like out of a movie - we had to take everything, he said. [4] David Morton said they came within 500m of the main fire. [4] The flames were higher than full-size forest pine trees, so five or six storeys high, and it was clear this was a fire that was out of control at that point. [4] Rebecca Papin saw a large plume of smoke in the distance on Thursday. [4] Just three hours later when she arrived home that night, there were water planes in the sky dropping water, firefighter helicopters in the sky and the entire distance was just a wall of flames, she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. [4] Mark Dorey decided to drive to the Dordogne with his wife and three children after being evacuated from a campsite near Parentis-en-Born. [4] You wouldn't believe it, but me and my two boys were watching a Queen tribute act at the campsite bar - straight after a rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody someone stopped them to say we were being evacuated at about 22:00, he said. [4]
What to watch next: Forecasters are predicting another heatwave so we can expect other wildfires, according to EU commissioner Hadja Lahbib.
