Wildfires force mass evacuations in France and Spain (VIDEOS)
Wildfires are raging in southwestern France and central Spain, prompting authorities to evacuate around 80,000 people Read Full Article at RT.com
admin
A total of 80,000 people have fled to safety in both countries, as smoke and fire close in on resort towns
Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from resorts on France’s southwestern coast, while the Spanish capital of Madrid is battling its worst wildfire in history, as southern Europe burns in one of its hottest summers on record.
Authorities in France ordered the total evacuation of Cap Ferret on Friday, commanding around 40,000 people to leave the popular resort area. The peninsula had been blanketed in a thick orange haze since Wednesday, when a fire that broke out inland near Saumos began spreading westward to the Atlantic coast.
While thousands of residents and tourists fled Cap Ferret and surrounding areas on Thursday, boats ferried hundreds of remaining holidaymakers off the peninsula on Friday morning, as flames encroached on the only road leading to the mainland.
Some 800 firefighters, backed by multiple water-bombing planes deployed by the European Commission were battling the blaze as of Friday afternoon. More than 12,500 hectares of forest have been burned.
The sky is now completely engulfed by massive, billowing clouds of dark brown and orange smoke as the wildfire in the Lège-Cap-Ferret area sends a thick plume of smoke across nearby Lacanau, Gironde Department, France.
— Weather Monitor (@WeatherMonitors) July 24, 2026
The wildfire has already scorched around 10,000 hectares. pic.twitter.com/8aENqmWYY4
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said that 32 wildfires of varying size were burning across France on Friday, while 45 km south of Cap Ferret, one of these fires approached the beach town of Biscarrosse, where around 23,000 people have been evacuated.
