Authorities in south-western France have ordered the total evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula on the Atlantic coast by land and sea as an “intense and highly unpredictable” wildfire advances on one of the country’s best-known holiday spots.
The fire had burned more than ۱۰,۰۰۰ hectares (۲۴,۷۰۰ acres) by Friday morning, the French interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, said, with ۴۰,۰۰۰ people already or about to be evacuated, including thousands of tourists from campsites and rental homes.
Boats began ferrying holidaymakers and residents off four piers on the peninsula early on Thursday after the Gironde prefecture ordered its progressive evacuation, “village by village”, by sea or by the only road linking the area with the mainland.
Brutal heat, as climate breakdown triggers more frequent and extreme weather events – causing thousands of excess deaths, evaporating soils and fuelling wildfires – has also prompted Spain to declare a national emergency, with blazes burning out of control.
About ۸۰۰ firefighters and four water-bombing planes were battling the Gironde blaze north of Arcachon Bay, but the fire, which began on Wednesday near the village of Saumos ۲۵ miles (۴۰km) from Bordeaux, was not yet stabilised.
Numerous roads in the area, including those leading to Cap Ferret – popular with French and international holidaymakers and home to the villas of many celebrities and millionaires – were closed to all but essential traffic. Eighty houses had burned.
A second fire raging in the region, farther south near the popular holiday resort of Biscarrosse, had also burned through more than ۲,۵۰۰ hectares, the Landes prefect, Gilles Clavreul, said on Friday, and led to the evacuation of about ۲۳,۰۰۰ people.
More than ۶۰۰ firefighters were struggling to contain that blaze, Clavreul said. “The fire front looks very bad,” he added. “There are a great many new fire starts ahead of the main blaze. The situation is highly dynamic and unfavourable.”
More than ۲۳,۰۰۰ people have also been evacuated from the Biscarrosse area, mainly from campsites and holiday homes, as well as a children’s summer camp and a residential care home for elderly people. Clavreul asked farmers to contribute with water tanks.
In ۲۰۲۲, a wildfire burned more than ۳۰,۰۰۰ hectares in the south-west, forcing ۵۰,۰۰۰ people to be evacuated. In tinder-dry conditions and fanned by strong winds, the two latest blazes have torn through coastal forests with flames reaching ۱۰ metres high.
France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, said he had activated the EU’s civil protection mechanism as the country, which has endured three almost back-to-back heatwaves since May, battled several wildfires mainly in the south-west and south-east.
“We will soon be able to count on reinforcements from two Croatian aircraft, two Portuguese planes, as well as two heavy helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia,” said Macron, who described the situation as “extremely intense”.
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Nuñez said on Friday that ۳۲ wildfires of varying size and intensity were burning across France, with ۵۰,۰۰۰ hectares scorched – nearly four times the total by the same date last year. About ۸۰۰ firefighters are battling a blaze in the south-eastern Var area.
The severity of fires in the EU has broken records for the time of year, data from the European Forest Fire Information System shows, with about twice as much land burned by ۲۲ July than the average for that date over the past two decades.
Spain’s government declared a national emergency on Thursday night after a series of wildfires threatened communities near Madrid and in the neighbouring province of Ávila, forcing more than ۱۰,۰۰۰ people to evacuate.
The interior ministry said the decision was taken because of the simultaneous outbreak of several fires, adverse weather conditions and the need to mobilise extensive resources from several public administrations.
The regional government of Madrid requested assistance, describing the situation as one of “extreme gravity”. It said at least four active fires could advance “beyond current extinguishing capacity”. The fires remained uncontained on Friday.
