Updated at\u00a002.44 EDT<\/p>\n
Key events<\/p>\n
Official warns windy conditions could intensify Madrid wildfires<\/p>\n
Authorities in Spain<\/a> said weather conditions in the early hours of this morning offer \u201ca real opportunity\u201d for firefighters to control the blaze, but stronger winds later today could hamper efforts and intensify the fire.<\/p>\n Francisco Mart\u00edn, the government delegate in Madrid, said the drop in temperature, easing winds and increase in humidity meant firefighters could tackle the wildfires near the Spanish capital \u201cwith some guarantee of success\u201d.<\/p>\n But he warned \u201cerratic gusts\u201d forecast later today could make the situation \u201cdifficult\u201d.<\/p>\n The Madrid regional government\u2019s emergency management chief, Carlos Novillo, told reporters yesterday that the fire was \u201cat its peak and \u2026 currently beyond the capacity of firefighters to contain\u201d, AFP reported.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a003.24 EDT<\/p>\n Here are some of the latest images from France<\/a> and Spain:<\/p>\n Firefighters battle a wildfire in Zarzalejo area, near El Escorial, 60 kms northwest of Madrid. Photograph: \u00d3scar del Pozo\/AFP\/Getty ImagesMembers of the Kiat Yack Martial Arts Academy in the village of El Tiemblo, during wildfires affecting Castilla y Leon province, Spain. Photograph: Violeta Santos Moura\/ReutersA home burns in Le Porge, in southwestern France. Photograph: Clement Viala\/infobassin.com\/ABACA\/ShutterstockThe wildfire north of the Arcachon basin covering the forest, with a view of a beach and the Atlantic Ocean near Lege-Cap-Ferret, southwestern France. Photograph: Romain Perrocheau\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a>Evacuations begin for some of Bordeaux’s suburbs<\/p>\n French authorities evacuated thousands of people from \u2060suburbs near Bordeaux on Saturday as wildfires in areas around the \u2060city showed no \u2060signs \u200bof abating, the Reuters news agency reports.<\/p>\n Sophie Brocas, who heads the local administration of La Nouvelle-Aquitaine \u2060et de la Gironde, which covers the Bordeaux region, said on X \u2060that the areas of Le Haillan, Eysines \u200band Merignac were being \u200ccleared out.<\/p>\n French \u200cPrime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said that more \u200cthan 141,000 people had so far been evacuated from the Gironde and Landes regions which lie close to Bordeaux, and where the wildfires first broke out this week.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fires \u200cwhich are hitting our country have reached a level that has never \u200bbeen seen before,\u201d Lecornu wrote on X on Saturday. The French army has also been drafted in to help.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.44 EDT<\/p>\n Spain’s Sanchez due to visit affected areas today Spain\u2019s government declared a national emergency on Thursday evening after wildfires \u2060threatened areas near the capital and in the neighbouring province of \u00c1vila, leading to the evacuation or confinement of more than 63,000 people.<\/p>\n A national emergency, which allows central government to assume overall control of powers and responsibilities that are usually the domain of Spain\u2019s self-governing regions, has only been declared once before, during the countrywide blackout of April 2025.<\/p>\n The regional government of Madrid requested assistance, describing the situation as one of \u201cextreme gravity\u201d. It said at least four active fires could advance \u201cbeyond current extinguishing capacity\u201d. The fires remained uncontained on Friday.<\/p>\n Spanish authorities said on Friday afternoon there was \u201cvery little time left\u201d before the blaze in Madrid, already made up of two merged fires, combined with the \u00c1vila fire.<\/p>\n Madrid\u2019s regional environment minister, Carlos Novillo, said the fire had reached \u201ca critical moment\u201d and was \u201cbeyond our extinguishing capability\u201d. He added: \u201cThe priority at the moment is protecting people, helping those who have been evacuated, and making the most of windows of opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n Spain\u2019s prime minister, Pedro S\u00e1nchez, chaired an emergency response meeting at the Moncloa palace on Friday morning as the state meteorological office warned that the danger of more fires remained very high.<\/p>\n He said the government had deployed \u201call available resources\u201d, adding: \u201cIt will be by your side during the emergency and the recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n The prime minister also thanked \u201call the emergency services that are fighting day and night\u201d. S\u00e1nchez is due to visit the affected area on Saturday morning.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Macron seeks EU help with 32 fires across France On Friday, France\u2019s president, \u200bEmmanuel Macron, said he had activated the EU\u2019s civil protection mechanism as the country, which has endured three almost back-to-back heatwaves since May, battled numerous wildfires.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will soon be able to count \u200con reinforcements from two Croatian aircraft, two Portuguese planes, as well as two heavy helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia,\u201d Macron said.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, France\u2019s interior minister, Laurent Nu\u00f1ez, said that 32 wildfires were burning, with 50,000 hectares scorched already so far this year \u2013 nearly four times the total by the same date last year.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.32 EDT<\/p>\n Race to control wildfires in France and Spain<\/p>\n Hello and welcome back to our rolling coverage of the wildfires spreading through parts of Spain and France<\/a>.<\/p>\n More than 200,000 people have been evacuated or locked down across both countries as firefighters battle to control the spread of the blazes.<\/p>\n Authorities in south-west France ordered the Cap Ferret peninsula on the Atlantic coast to be evacuated \u201cvillage by village\u201d in the face of an \u201cintense, highly unpredictable\u201d wildfire that has burned through more than 19,000 hectares (47,000 acres) of forest.<\/p>\n Spain\u2019s government declared its first national emergency for a wildfire as two large blazes merged into one outside Madrid and a third was on the verge of joining them, amid searing heat and tinder-dry conditions across much of southern Europe<\/a>.<\/p>\n Both countries sought EU help. \u201cThis is the worst wildfire in our region\u2019s history,\u201d said Madrid\u2019s regional leader, Isabel D\u00edaz Ayuso, describing \u201can unprecedented situation: a perfect storm of extremely high temperatures and relentless winds\u201d.<\/p>\n Scientists say climate breakdown is triggering more frequent and more extreme weather events, evaporating soils<\/a> and waterways, fuelling wildfires and leading to thousands of excess deaths<\/a>. Europe is heating at about twice the global average rate.<\/p>\n You can read the full report from my colleagues in France and Spain<\/a>, Jon Henley and Sam Jones, here:<\/p>\n We\u2019ll bring you the latest updates throughout the days\u2026<\/p>\n![\"Sam](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784965996_709_Sam_Jones.png\")
Sam Jones<\/p>\n![\"Jon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Jon_Henley,_L.png\")
Jon Henley<\/p>\n