Massive Wildfires Force 330,000+ Evacuations Across France and Spain; Bordeaux Wine Region Threatened

Wildfires raging across southwestern France and Spain have forced the evacuation of more than 330,000 people, with the largest blaze near Bordeaux burning 42,000 hectares, according to BBC News reporting. The fire is one of the largest in France since World War Two and has claimed two firefighter lives. A civilian was killed in a separate blaze in the Valencia region of Spain.

In the Gironde region of France, where the Bordeaux-area fire is burning, the rescue effort involves 2,500 firefighters (including a Swiss team), 1,500 military personnel, and almost 1,200 police and gendarmes. The fire near Bordeaux sits approximately 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the city's wider region and 25 to 30 kilometers (15 to 19 miles) from its center, according to BBC reporting. Overnight into Sunday, 55,000 people were evacuated from villages south of Bordeaux, bringing the total evacuations in southwest France to more than 220,000.

According to Captain Nicolas Braz, one of the leaders of the firefighting operation cited by BBC News, the fire has created its own weather system, complete with whirlwinds, and is erratic and unmanageable. France's Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told BBC News the situation remains very unfavorable and the wildfire is moving erratically toward the Bordeaux metropolitan area.

In Spain, more than 90,000 people have been evacuated from regions around Madrid and Ávila. Overnight into Sunday, a new fire front opened near the coastal city of Valencia. Valencia's regional President Juanfran Pérez Llorca said the fire is beyond the region's capacity to extinguish, per BBC reporting. At least eight municipalities near Toledo were ordered to evacuate late Saturday, though the number of people involved was unclear.

Conditions are expected to worsen Sunday, with high temperatures and low humidity forecast to allow the fire to spread further. Critical infrastructure has already been affected: 60 kilometers (37 miles) of the A63 motorway, which leads to Spain, is closed. The final stage of the Tour de France has been shortened from 133 kilometers to 89 kilometers to allow security forces to be redeployed to the firefighting effort.

Bordeaux's Mayor Thomas Cazenave downplayed the possibility of the city itself being evacuated, according to BBC News, suggesting the municipal center was not in immediate danger despite the fire's proximity. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told BBC News he expects difficult hours ahead but said there were positive indications overnight toward containing the blaze. President Emmanuel Macron said France would rebuild and his government would be there as long as needed. Sanchez also called for a major public pact on the climate emergency.

As of report time, approximately 98,000 hectares have burned across France since the start of the year, per BBC reporting.