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Wildfires sweeping across southwestern France forced tens of thousands of people to flee overnight as flames advanced toward Bordeaux, while parallel blazes in Spain continued to spread, extending one of Europe’s most severe wildfire emergencies in years. By Sunday morning, about 55,000 people had been evacuated from villages south of Bordeaux in France’s Gironde region, known for its vineyards.

French authorities said the fire remained unpredictable, with Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez warning that conditions were “very unfavourable” and that the blaze was “moving erratically towards” the city, though officials said an evacuation of Bordeaux itself was not being considered. The fires are part of a broader wave of wildfires that has swept across Europe over the past week, particularly in France and Spain, where more than 330,000 people have been evacuated.

France has been among the hardest-hit countries. Officials say about 42,000 hectares have burned in the southwest alone, making it one of the country’s largest forest fires since World War II. Nationwide, nearly 98,000 hectares have been destroyed by fire since the beginning of the year, while more than 220,000 people have been evacuated across the southwest.

Firefighters battling the Gironde blaze described conditions as increasingly difficult. “The fire has created its own winds — complete with whirlwinds,” said Captain Nicolas Braz, one of the operation’s commanders, describing the blaze as “erratic and unmanageable.”

In Le Porge, a coastal town where more than 150 homes have been destroyed, residents have organized volunteer efforts to support firefighters, preparing meals and offering places to rest between shifts. “I think many of them have never experienced a fire of this magnitude before,” Nathalie Augonnet, one of the volunteers, told BBC.

“I’m a little devastated for this beautiful town, for its forests, its wildlife and for the people who have lost so much,” she said. “Right now, we’re focused on taking action, so we don’t really have time to think. I think the difficult part will come afterwards, during the reconstruction.”

Across the border in Spain, wildfires also continued to intensify, prompting the evacuation of more than 90,000 people from areas around Madrid and Ávila.

Sara Aagesen, Spain’s minister for ecological transition, said about 77,000 hectares had been affected and described the wildfire in the Ávila region as the largest in the country’s recent history.

Among those forced to flee was Olga Congacha, 50, who left her home in the village of Robledo de Chavela, west of Madrid.

“I didn’t know whether to cry or what. It was a moment when you feel awful,” she said after receiving evacuation orders.

Returning briefly on Sunday to collect medication, she found deserted streets and her home covered in ash.

Visitors to Madrid also reported smoke drifting into the city. A couple from New Zealand said they could both see and smell the fires from their hotel, while Canadian tourist Letisha Lucas said the smoke was immediately noticeable upon arrival and was “very irritating on the throat.”

A new wildfire also broke out overnight near the Mediterranean city of Valencia. “The fire is beyond our capacity to extinguish,” Valencia regional president Juanfran Pérez Llorca told reporters on Saturday.

Pilar Bernabe, the Spanish government’s representative in Valencia, warned that high temperatures and low humidity expected on Sunday were likely to worsen conditions and allow the fire to spread further.

One civilian was killed Saturday in a separate wildfire in the Valencia region, the only civilian fatality reported so far. Earlier in the week, two firefighters died while battling the blaze near Bordeaux.

Speaking during a visit to fire-ravaged areas west of Madrid, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said “difficult hours lie ahead” but noted there had been “positive” signs overnight in efforts to contain the fires.

He also called for “a major public pact on the climate emergency.”

Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso described the disaster as the “worst fire in the history of the region.”

In France, about 2,500 firefighters, supported by a Swiss team, 1,500 military personnel and nearly 1,200 police officers and gendarmes, remained deployed across Gironde. Dry vegetation and strong winds continued to drive the fire’s spread, forcing the closure of a 60-kilometer stretch of the A63 motorway linking France and Spain.

The disruption also reached Bordeaux Airport, where departure and arrival boards showed widespread delays on Sunday afternoon. At least 28 EasyJet flights were delayed, many without revised departure or arrival times, while five flights, including services to and from the United Kingdom, were canceled.

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