Wildfires force 80,000 to flee in France and Spain as Cap Ferret evacuated
Massive forest fires are raging across southwestern France and central Spain, forcing the evacuation of an estimated 80,000 people from their homes. In France, some residents were compelled to flee by boat as flames engulfed the popular Cap Ferret peninsula on the Atlantic coast.
The blaze near Cap Ferret, located just 60 kilometres (37 miles) from Bordeaux, has consumed approximately 100 square kilometres (38 square miles) since Wednesday. This area, usually celebrated for its stunning landscapes, sandy beaches, oyster-farming villages, and upmarket resorts, is now under severe threat. Over 60,000 French residents have been displaced.
Both France and Spain have appealed to fellow European Union member states for urgent assistance to combat the escalating infernos.
Hundreds of French firefighters have been deployed and additional ground and aerial reinforcements were sent Friday to tackle the blaze. Meanwhile, another major wildfire burned further south down the coast. It remained uncontained as strong winds did not help firefighters.
France’s Interior minister, Laurent Nunez, said 40,000 people have been evacuated in the Gironde department, and 23,000 in the Landes.
French President Emmanuel Macron said France will receive EU reinforcements including two Croatian Canadair firefighting aircraft, two Portuguese Air Tractor aircraft, and two heavy-lift Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said that Italy and Greece are each sending two Canadair water-dumping airplanes.
In southwest France, authorities sent boats to help the evacuation and a total of about 63,000 people, many of them tourists, were told to get out as two major, separate fires threatened homes and campsites, officials said.
“From our home, we had a view of the fires … We could see the clouds becoming darker and darker,” said Yoan Urien, who left late on Thursday after police told everyone in his neighbourhood in the town of Biscarrosse to leave. “I was able to find somewhere to take shelter with my pets, but … it’s quite a shock,” the 26-year-old told Reuters.
The other major fire, which began in nearby Saumos, north of Cap Ferret, is threatening to cut off the only road out of the peninsula and is the largest so far this season in France, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told local television. It has torn through more than 10,000 hectares (24,700 acres) of forest and burned 80 homes, completely destroying about 50 of them, he said.
“It breaks my heart. Because it’s such a pleasant place to live, seeing it go up in smoke is truly sad,” said family caregiver Corinne Paillaube. “It’s totally apocalyptic,” said Ambre Dubos, from the nearby Landes region.
In Spain, the government declared a national emergency for wildfires for the first time as the blazes in Madrid and the nearby province of Ávila prompted the evacuation of some 20,000 people from towns.
The national emergency means that the nation’s interior ministry, which controls police and security forces, has taken charge of overseeing the firefighting efforts that are being fanned by a heat wave. Temperatures are expected to top 39 degrees Celsius (102 Fahrenheit) in parts of Spain.
The two major fires west of Madrid merged into one single blaze that had quickly charred 30 square kilometers (11.5 square miles) by Friday afternoon. Regional president Isabel Díaz-Ayuso called it the worst in Madrid’s history.
The regional government of Madrid, which spans a wide area around the city, said that around 18,000 people had been evacuated from different villages and towns west of the capital.
