Western Europe wildfires prompt evacuations and emergency aid

On 25 July, authorities in Spain and France reported new developments as wildfires continued in western Europe.

In Spain, the government delegation in Madrid said early Saturday that overnight conditions had greatly helped the fight against the wildfires, which had advanced little and decreased in intensity. Francisco Martin, the central government's delegate in Madrid, said late Friday that lower temperatures created a real opportunity to tackle the fire, but he warned that Saturday would be difficult because winds were expected to rise with erratic gusts.

Spain's interior ministry said late Friday that about 63,000 people in the Madrid region had been evacuated or ordered to remain indoors as wildfires continued to spread. Carlos Novillo, Madrid's regional government emergency management chief, said a wildfire near Madrid was at its peak and impossible to control. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was due to visit the emergency coordination centre in the fire zone early Saturday.

The source also reported that a large fire near Madrid was close to merging with another blaze in neighbouring Castilla y Leon. Government official Nicanor Sen Velez called that very bad news. Spanish police said they had arrested a man accused of starting a fire in Castilla y Leon by using farm machinery despite a ban imposed because of tinderbox conditions. Police said another person was under investigation over the same incident.

NASA evacuated one of its three global deep space communications facilities in Spain on Friday because of the wildfires, affecting the agency's ability to communicate with space probes.

In France, authorities ordered towns near Bordeaux to evacuate as a precaution as wildfires moved toward the area. The traffic information website Bison Fute urged drivers to avoid roads in the Gironde department so emergency services could use them. France's interior ministry said more than 140,000 people had been evacuated from areas threatened by wildfires in the southwest. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told TF1 that authorities would do everything to protect Bordeaux.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said after a crisis meeting that about 500 additional soldiers would be sent to support firefighters in southwest France.

The European Union said it was deploying four specialised water-bombing planes to Spain and three to France after both countries requested help.

People fleeing towns and villages near Madrid described rapid escapes. Ecologio Cabrera, 86, said that if people did not run from the fire and tried to face it, it would devour them. He said he had never experienced anything like it.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said his government had deployed all available resources to fight the fires. He said Spain was living through a dramatic situation in several Spanish provinces and in regions of neighbouring countries.