The blazes have destroyed houses, displaced people on a massive scale and triggered one of the largest peacetime civilian evacuation operations ever carried out in France, with major fires still burning in both countries.<\/p>\n
One person was killed in eastern Spain and fresh evacuations were ordered around the French city of Bordeaux and the Spanish capital Madrid as authorities warned of another difficult night.<\/p>\n
Families slept on camp beds in exhibition halls and gymnasiums after fleeing walls of smoke and flames that swept through forests and tourist areas, leaving residents and holidaymakers uncertain if they would be able to return.<\/p>\n
According to the Gironde fire service in France, the blaze generated a rare \u201cpyro cumulonimbus\u201d cloud, creating its own winds and whirlwinds and making it \u201cerratic and unmanageable\u201d, said firefighter Capt. Nicolas Braz.<\/p>\n
Spanish authorities meanwhile ordered new evacuations near Toledo, south-west of Madrid.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Spain has declared a national emergency, the first time the country has ever done so over a wildfire.<\/p>\n France\u2019s evacuations constituted \u201cprobably\u201d the biggest peacetime evacuation the country has ever seen, its interior minister said.<\/p>\n Hundreds of firefighters have worked to contain the blazes, which have been fuelled by persistent heatwaves and the climate crisis, but were still unable to stop their advance.<\/p>\n The French government has called in the military to help, deploying 1,500 soldiers, and has rushed 1.5m face masks to help protect people from smoke inhalation.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n About 220,000 people have now been evacuated from the main forest fire raging in the south-west of France<\/a> that threatens the city of Bordeaux, according to French authorities.<\/p>\n The latest evacuations have been in villages around Bordeaux while 60km (37 miles) of the main A63 highway from Bordeaux to the Spanish border has been closed because of the fires, regional authorities said.<\/p>\n Tens of thousands more people have been evacuated from other wildfires in France and central Spain<\/a>.<\/p>\n Authorities have evacuated residents from several neighbourhoods in Marcheprime in south-western France because of the fast-moving wildfire spreading across the Gironde region. Photograph: Anadolu\/Getty ImagesAbout 1,500 French firefighters and military reinforcements have been deployed around the clock to fight the wildfires in south-western France. Photograph: Jeanne Accorsini\/SIPA\/ShutterstockShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.36 EDT<\/p>\n Some of the photos emerging from France<\/a> and Spain paint a dramatic picture of the crisis.<\/p>\n Firefighters work to control a fire in Ares, France. Photograph: Jeanne Accorsini\/SIPA\/Shutterstock Photograph: St\u00e9phane Mah\u00e9\/ReutersResidents in the town of Lacanau, south-western France, are among the many at risk from the raging fires. Photograph: Julien de Rosa\/AFP\/Getty ImagesFirefighters spray water along the edge of a forest in an attempt to contain a fire burning near the French town of Lege-Cap-Ferret. Photograph: Julien de Rosa\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.32 EDT<\/p>\n Authorities in France\u2019s Gironde region, where Bordeaux is located, issued overnight evacuation orders for five more localities including some on the city\u2019s approaches.<\/p>\n Their statement said gusting winds fed the flames overnight, accelerating the spread of the fire that has been burning out of control since midweek.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a002.34 EDT<\/p>\n Opening summary<\/p>\n Hello and welcome back to our rolling coverage of the wildfires spreading through parts of Spain and France.<\/p>\n![\"William](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/William_Christou_v2.png\")
William Christou<\/p>\n