Wildfires force mass evacuations in France and Spain

Authorities in France and Spain reported widespread evacuations, transport disruption and expanding wildfire damage on Sunday as fires continued to burn in several regions.

French authorities said more than 220,000 people have now been evacuated from the main forest fire in southwest France, which threatens Bordeaux. About 55,000 people were ordered overnight to leave villages around Bordeaux in the Gironde region as the fire spread. Another 30,000 people have been evacuated from a separate wildfire zone in the Landes region farther south.

In Spain, at least 60,000 people have been forced to leave areas around Madrid. Spanish authorities also ordered evacuations in eight more municipalities near Toledo on Saturday evening as fires threatened areas west of Madrid. The interior ministry named the affected municipalities as Buenaventura, Navamorcuende, Real de San Vicente, Hinojosa de San Vicente, Castillo de Bayuela, Garciotum, Nuno Gomez and Pelahustan.

High winds helped spread the Gironde fire. Regional authorities said 60 kilometres, or 40 miles, of the A63 highway between Bordeaux and the Spanish border had been closed. The SNCF rail company said train traffic had also been stopped for about 100 kilometres, or 60 miles, south of Bordeaux.

Regional authorities said Sunday that the Gironde fire had burned 42,000 hectares, or 103,000 acres, making it one of France's largest land devastations since World War II. A 1949 fire burned about 50,000 hectares.

The French government ordered 500 more soldiers to the southwest fire zone, raising the deployment there to 1,500. The defence ministry said the troops would help evacuate residents from threatened areas and help protect homes left empty during the emergency.

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu warned late Saturday that the coming hours could be difficult for those fighting the fire around Bordeaux after weather forecasts worsened. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the blaze would be a long battle and that evacuated residents would not be allowed to return until the fire was contained.

Prosecutors said three men were arrested Saturday in Gironde on suspicion of endangering lives. Two were accused of setting off fireworks. The account of the arrests referred to a 32,000-hectare burned area in Gironde, while regional authorities later put the burned area at 42,000 hectares.

In southeastern France, about 2,000 people were still unable to return home in the Var department because of the Ponteves wildfire. Authorities said that fire was still very active after burning 4,000 hectares in five days. In Corsica, firefighters were still trying to contain a fire near Corte that had spread over more than 800 hectares.

Authorities in Valencia, in eastern Spain, said one person was killed by a wildfire there before firefighters brought it under control.

Tour de France organisers said they would shorten the following day's final stage because of the wildfires in southwest France. Organisers ASO said the route from Thoiry to Paris was being adapted in solidarity with affected areas and communities.