Getty ImagesFirefighters are battling to contain wildfires burning near to the city of Bordeaux as tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from the surrounding region.
Speaking on Sunday, the city’s Mayor, Thomas Cazenave, said the fire was about 15km (9 miles) from the outskirts of the city’s wider region, and 25 to 30km (15 and 19 miles) from its centre, although downplayed the possibility of Bordeaux being evacuated.
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 France and Spain, where more than 330,000 people have been evacuated.
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”.
France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Sunday the situation in the region remained “very unfavourable” and the wildfire was “moving erratically towards the Bordeaux metropolitan area”.
In the Gironde region, the rescue effort involves 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.
The final stage of the Tour de France, taking place in Paris on Sunday, has been shortened 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”.
Meanwhile in Spain, fires continue to spread, with more than 90,000 evacuated from the regions around Madrid and Ávila.
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.
Late on Saturday, at least eight municipalities near Toledo were also ordered to evacuate, though it was unclear how many people were involved.
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”.
