Paris / Madrid, July 26 (SANA) — Wildfires continued to spread across southwestern France and parts of Spain on Saturday, forcing more than 300,000 people to evacuate as authorities warned that the blazes could continue and remain difficult to control.
In France, around 55,000 additional people were ordered to evacuate areas near Bordeaux after fires intensified and generated fire clouds that accelerated their spread. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said containing the fires would take time, adding that residents would not be allowed to return until the blazes were brought under control.
France deployed around 1,500 military personnel to assist firefighting operations and used an A400M military transport aircraft for the first time to drop water or fire retardant.
The fires have burned more than 32,000 hectares of forest, destroyed at least 100 buildings and 140 homes, and forced the cancellation of the final stage of the Tour de France. President Emmanuel Macron said France had requested assistance from the European Union to combat a major wildfire near the Atlantic coast.
In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said saving lives remained the priority, while Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska described the situation as “complex” and warned that weather conditions were unlikely to improve.
Authorities ordered further evacuations in Toledo province, west of Madrid, bringing the number of evacuees in the Madrid region to around 60,000. Several fires have merged into a blaze covering nearly 25,000 hectares west of the capital.
A wildfire near the eastern city of Valencia also left one person dead, according to local authorities.
N.J/ABD
