Firefighters battle wildfire as tens of thousands evacuated near Bordeaux

Firefighters are battling to contain wildfires burning near the city of Bordeaux as tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from the surrounding region.

France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the situation in the region remained “very unfavourable” and the fire was “moving erratically towards” Bordeaux, though officials downplayed the possibility of evacuation.

Overnight into Sunday, about 55,000 people were evacuated from villages to the south of the city in the Gironde region, famed for its vineyards.

Wildfires have raged across Europe over the past week, primarily in France and Spain, where more than 330,000 people have been evacuated.

France has been one of worst affected regions, with an area of 42,000 hectares burnt in the south-west, making it one of the largest forest fires since World War Two. About 98,000 hectares have burnt across the country since the start of the year.

In total, more than 220,000 people have been evacuated in the south-west of the country.

Captain Nicolas Braz, one of the leaders of the firefighting operation, said the fire had created “its own winds – complete with whirlwinds”, adding it was “erratic and unmanageable”.

Residents in Le Porge, one of the coastal towns hit by the fires, have set up an improvised volunteer network to support exhausted firefighters, cooking them meals and offering a place to rest in between shifts.

“I think many of them have never experienced a fire of this magnitude before,” volunteer Nathalie Augonnet said.

More than 150 houses have been destroyed in the town of 3,500 inhabitants.

“I’m a little devastated for this beautiful town, for its forests, its wildlife and for the people who have lost so much,” Augonnet said.

“Right now, we’re focused on taking action, so we don’t really have time to think. I think the difficult part will come afterwards, during the reconstruction.”

Meanwhile in Spain, fires continue to spread, with more than 90,000 evacuated from the regions around Madrid and Ávila.

Around 77,000 hectares have been affected by the fires in Spain, minister for ecological transition, Sara Aagesen, said on Sunday.

She added that the wildfire burning in the Ávila region is the largest in the country’s recent history.

Among the residents evacuating surrounding areas is Olga Congacha, 50, who had to flee her village of Robledo de Chavela west of Madrid in a haste.

She said she felt “panicked” when she was told to leave her home.

“I didn’t know whether to cry or what. It was a moment when you feel awful,” she added.

Returning to her home briefly on Sunday to get medicine, she said the streets were deserted and her house covered in ash.

Tourists in Madrid have reported seeing the fire and smoke near the airport, with one couple from New Zealand describing also smelling the smoke from their hotel in the city.

Canadian tourist Letisha Lucas said the smell was immediately obvious on arrival in Madrid “and very irritating on the throat”.

Overnight into Sunday, a new front also opened up near the coastal city of Valencia.

Speaking to reporters late on Saturday, Valencia’s regional President Juanfran Pérez Llorca said: “The fire is beyond our capacity to extinguish.”

Pilar Bernabe, the central government’s delegate to Valencia, said conditions in the region were likely to worsen throughout Sunday.

Sunday is expected to bring high temperatures and low humidity, potentially allowing the fire to spread further.

On Saturday, one civilian was killed in a smaller fire in the Valencia region – the only civilian death so far reported.

Earlier in the week, two firefighters were killed fighting the blaze near to Bordeaux in France.

Speaking on Sunday during a visit to an area hit by wildfires to the west of Madrid, the country’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said “difficult hours lie ahead” but added there were “positive” indications overnight towards containing the blaze.

He also said there needed to be “a major public pact on the climate emergency”.

Madrid’s regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso described the situation as the “worst fire in the history of the region”.

Rescue efforts in France’s Gironde region involve 2,500 firefighters, including a Swiss team, 1,500 military personnel and almost 1,200 police and gendarmes, who are carrying out evacuations and helping with rescue and securing operations.

Dry vegetation and brisk winds are causing the fire to spread, with 60km (37 miles) of the A63 motorway, which leads to Spain, having been closed.

On Sunday afternoon, Bordeaux Airport’s departures and arrivals boards were showing delays to every flight from 17:15 onwards.

Some 28 Easyjet flights alone were delayed, many with no new departure or arrival time given, and five cancelled including UK flights.

Bordeaux Airport told BBC News air traffic control restrictions had been put in place “to facilitate the work of the emergency services” in fighting the fires, with all commercial flights affected.

It is unclear how long the delays will last, the airport added.

The final stage of the Tour de France was shortened on Sunday from 133km to 89km (from 82 miles to 55) to allow security forces to be redeployed to the firefighting effort.

President Emmanuel Macron said France would “rebuild” and his government would “be there for as long as is needed”.