{"id":565721,"date":"2026-07-24T09:51:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T09:51:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/565721\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T09:51:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T09:51:19","slug":"wildfires-france-orders-evacuation-of-tourist-hotspot-as-spain-declares-national-emergency-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/565721\/","title":{"rendered":"Wildfires: France orders evacuation of tourist hotspot as Spain declares national emergency \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

French<\/a> authorities ordered on Friday the total evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula, a tourism hotspot on the Atlantic Coast, sending boats to remove people from an area threatened by a major wildfire. In Spain<\/a>, wildfires near Madrid prompted the government to declare a national emergency.<\/p>\n

The order for a total evacuation of the French peninsula, which is home to many valuable properties and is full of tourists enjoying their summer vacations in camp sites and rental homes, underlined the severity \u2060of the fire. <\/p>\n

French president Emmanuel Macron<\/a> said he had requested help from the European Union as the country\u2019s \u200cbattle \u200cagainst wildfires \u200bintensifies. \u201cFrance has requested the activation of the European Union\u2019s civil protection mechanism. We will soon be able to count on reinforcements from two Croatian Canadair aircraft, two Portuguese Air Tractor planes, as \u2060well as two heavy Black Hawk helicopters from \u200bthe Czech Republic and Slovakia,\u201d wrote Macron on X on Friday. <\/p>\n

Sophie \u200bBrocas, the prefect for the Nouvelle Aquitaine region, said evacuees from the Cap Ferret peninsula could leave from \u200cpiers in four villages in the area between \u200b7am and 10am local time. All those still present in those villages must leave \u2060either on the boats or by the only road \u2060linking the area with \u200bthe mainland, she added. <\/p>\n

The fire has already devastated 8,700 hectares. <\/p>\n

Across Europe, three heatwaves in succession this season have intensified drought, strained water supplies and left vegetation tinder-dry, helping wildfires scorch more land already this year than the annual average of the past two decades. The heat has also been blamed for thousands of deaths. France has been particularly hard hit, with the intense heat pressuring its capacity to handle the situation. <\/p>\n

\u201cOur security forces are engaged in a genuine battle against the wildfires,\u201d interior minister Laurent \u200cNunez said on Thursday evening. \u201cThe nation \u2060stands with you.\u201d <\/p>\n

The pressure on fire departments in southwestern France has been increased by another wildfire that began on Thursday afternoon near Biscarosse, 40km south of Cap Ferret. That fire, which is still \u200cnot under control, has devastated 2,500 hectares, the prefect for the Landes area, Gilles Clavreul, said in a statement. <\/p>\n

\u201cWinds are blowing, and the situation remains \u200bhighly dynamic and unfavourable,\u201d he said. More than 23,000 people were evacuated from the Biscarosse district, \u200bmainly in campsites and homes and a children\u2019s summer camp and a residential care home for the elderly were also evacuated. He asked farmers to contribute with water tanks. <\/p>\n

The Spanish<\/a> government on Thursday night declared a \u200cnational emergency after a series of wildfires<\/a> threatened communities near Madrid and in the neighbouring province of \u200cAvila, forcing more than 10,000 people to evacuate as firefighters struggled to contain the blazes.<\/p>\n

The interior \u200bministry said the decision was taken because of the simultaneous outbreak of several fires, adverse weather conditions and the need to mobilise extensive resources from different public administrations, increasing the complexity of firefighting \u200band civil protection efforts.<\/p>\n

The regional government of Madrid requested assistance, describing the \u2060situation as one of \u201cextreme \u200bgravity\u201d. It said active fires in Villa del \u200bPrado, San Martin de Valdeiglesias and Almorox, in neighbouring Castile-La Mancha, had the \u200cpotential to advance beyond current extinguishing \u200bcapacity. It also warned that the wildfire in Burgohondo, Avila, could reach the \u2060Madrid region in the coming hours \u2060due to weather \u200bconditions.<\/p>\n

More than 10,000 people have been evacuated from Villa del Prado, San Martin de Valdeiglesias, Pelayos de la Presa and Aldea del Fresno, according to the regional government.<\/p>\n

\"AA wildfire has scorched parts of Guadalajara in Spain. Photograph: Manu Fernandez\/AP <\/p>\n

Under Spain\u2019s National Civil Protection System law, the declaration places the emergency under the direct authority of the interior minister, who is responsible for co-ordinating the response. Authorities said it was the \u200cfirst such declaration linked \u2060to a wildfire.<\/p>\n

More than 270 emergency personnel and 40 ground units have been deployed in the affected areas, alongside several Military Emergency Unit \u200ccontingents.<\/p>\n

More than 100,000 hectares have burned in Spain so far this year, roughly equivalent to the \u200bcountry\u2019s average annual burned area over the past decade. \u200bThirteen people have died, making 2026 one of the deadliest wildfire seasons in decades.<\/p>\n

. \u2013 Reuters<\/p>\n

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