Wildfires Displace More Than 360,000 in France and Spain
The number of people driven from their homes by wildfires in France and Spain has passed 360,000, as fires burned beyond containment in a fourth week of extreme heat. France, which has evacuated some 250,000 people, has mounted what officials call its largest peacetime evacuation, while Spain, under a national emergency, has moved more than 116,000 from around Madrid and beyond. Temperatures have topped 40C.
In France’s Gironde region alone, 55,000 people were evacuated overnight as blazes swept the Atlantic coast; authorities said teams were struggling for capacity and resources. Spain deployed its military emergency unit and drew water-bombing aircraft from fellow European Union states, while police accused a tractor driver of accidentally sparking one of the largest fires. No new deaths were confirmed on Sunday, though the ecological and human toll is severe. The Tour de France’s final stage was shortened. For Britons in the region, the danger persists. Watch the containment effort and the forecast heat.