A fresh wave of evacuations swept southwest France overnight into Sunday as an out-of-control wildfire crept toward Bordeaux, forcing another 55,000 people from their homes and lifting the total displaced across France and Spain to more than 340,000.
Authorities in the Gironde region, home to the historic wine city of Bordeaux, ordered residents of five additional localities to the southwest to flee as gusting winds accelerated the blaze that has burned since midweek. The evacuations brought the number driven out in that single region to roughly 220,000.
Firefighters described battling fire “whirlwinds” near the coastal town of Lacanau, where swirling columns of superheated air and flame have complicated efforts to contain the front. Crews sprayed water across burning forest as the fire advanced through the pine-covered landscape between the city and the Atlantic coast.
The Gironde prefect ordered the partial closure of a major highway linking Bordeaux to the coast, cutting a key route as the flames neared populated areas. Officials warned that shifting winds could push the fire further overnight.
A second blaze further south in the Landes region had already forced 30,000 people from their homes earlier in the week, part of a rapidly escalating crisis that has now spilled across the border into Spain.
The latest displacements build on days of mounting emergency measures. Earlier in the week, evacuation orders across the two countries had already forced some 200,000 people to flee amid record-breaking heat that has left forests tinder-dry.
The fires form part of a broader wave of blazes gripping southern Europe during a prolonged heatwave. Spain has declared a national emergency in affected zones, and thousands were forced to leave areas near Madrid as separate fires flared.
The scale of the destruction has renewed scrutiny of the region’s firefighting capacity and preparedness, following the European Union’s earlier push to bolster coordinated responses to increasingly frequent wildfire events.
Weather forecasts offered little immediate relief, with high temperatures and strong winds expected to persist. Authorities urged evacuated residents to stay clear of affected zones and monitor official channels as crews continued to fight the flames on multiple fronts.