LEGE-CAP FERRET, France (AP) 鈥� A in southwest France forced the evacuation of 55,000 people overnight Sunday, bringing the total forced out of their homes to a staggering 220,000 in one region alone, as flames crept ever closer to the wine region city of Bordeaux. Neighboring Spain oversaw its own on the country’s east coast.
Shifting and gusting winds, as well as arid conditions, complicated massive efforts to limit the spread of the monster blaze burning out of control since midweek in France’s Gironde region, where Bordeaux is located. Authorities issued overnight evacuation orders for five more localities southwest of the historic city.
鈥淭he situation remains very unfavorable,” French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said after what he described as 鈥渁nother difficult night鈥� for fire crews battling round-the-clock against the blaze that has burned an area four times the size of Paris.
鈥淭he fire became extremely virulent again and unpredictable, generating its own winds and advancing erratically toward the Bordeaux metropolitan area,” Nunez posted on X.
鈥淚t became calmer by the end of the night,” the minister added.
Pope calls for prayers for victims of the 鈥榙evastating wildfires鈥�
At the end of his Sunday Angelus prayer, Pope Leo XIV referenced 鈥渢he devastating wildfires鈥� in France and Spain and said: 鈥淚 express my solidarity and invite everyone to pray for those affected and for the work of the rescue workers.鈥�
An estimated 42,000 hectares (162 square miles) had burned in Gironde, the region’s prefecture said, much of it forests and scrubland made tinder-dry by . That is seven times the area of Manhattan island and four times the size of Paris.
Firefighters raced in trucks to fight flare-ups and planes dropping water and retardants rotated in the smoke-filled air. Farmers delivered water in tanks to fire crews so they could fight the flames without interruption.
鈥淭his allows firefighters to focus on the fire,鈥� said Theo Hernandez, a wine grower. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very strong, very virulent, it鈥檚 spreading everywhere.鈥�
The number of firefighters mobilized grew to 2,500, backed by 18 planes and helicopters, including from other European nations. Soldiers have also been called in. A giant A400M military cargo aircraft dropped plumes of ochre-colored retardant.
The Gironde prefecture said 75 firefighters were treated for injuries. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed.
Blaze has created virulent firestorms
In a first for France, the blaze alarmingly developed into a self-feeding firestorm on several occasions, most recently on Saturday night, generating lightning bolts that can start new flare-ups, authorities said.
鈥淚t’s like being confronted by a hurricane,鈥� said Gironde fire chief Marc Vermeulen.
Forecast high temperatures starting Tuesday could complicate the firefighting, Gironde prefect Sophie Brocas said.
Evacuees won鈥檛 be allowed back to their towns and villages until the blaze is brought under control, she warned. She urged holiday makers not to come to the region that has popular Atlantic beaches and some of France鈥檚 largest woodlands.
Fire creeps toward Bordeaux but the city isn’t evacuating
Bordeaux Mayor Thomas Cazenave described the blaze as being “at the gates of the metropolitan area,鈥� about 15 kilometers (9 miles) away at its closest point.
But Cazenave said an evacuation of Bordeaux is not on the cards for now. The city is home to 268,000 people.
Bordeaux turned an exhibition center into an emergency shelter, providing cots and food for thousands of evacuees, including hundreds of older people evacuated from care homes.
A second fire burning farther south in the Landes region has also forced the evacuation of 36,000 people, driving the total number of displaced people in southwest France to more than 250,000.
Fire crews have also been battling a blaze in the Var region of southern France on the Mediterranean. Nearly 3,000 people have been evacuated there.
Tens of thousands of people also forced out of their homes in Spain
In Spain, wildfires burned out of control around Madrid. Evacuations were also carried out Sunday in the Valencia region. A man was killed Saturday in a wildfire in Manises, a Valencia suburb, marking Spain鈥檚 first recorded death in the latest fires.
鈥淲e still have some difficult hours ahead,鈥� Prime Minister Pedro S谩nchez said Sunday, but the night was 鈥渧ery positive in terms of bringing the flames under control.鈥�
A total of 76,000 people have been evacuated in Spain while 30,000 others have been confined to their homes, the government said.
Evacuees fretted about what they鈥檒l find when they鈥檙e allowed to return.
鈥淚t looked like the apocalypse. You couldn鈥檛 see anything. Everything was covered in ash,鈥� said Roc铆o Dom铆nguez, who evacuated with her dog, Simba, from Chapiner铆a, west of Madrid.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 know when we get to the town, if we鈥檒l have half the house burned down or we鈥檒l have it intact or we won鈥檛 have a house,鈥� she said. 鈥淎ll the clothes, all the memories, everything.鈥�
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Leicester reported from Paris. Associated Press journalists Jeffrey Schaeffer in Paris; Teresa Medrano in Madrid; Alicia Le贸n in Villaviciosa de Od贸n, Spain, and Maria Murru in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, contributed to this report.
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