Devastating European wildfires in maps - and how they're being tackled - BBC

What the report says

BBC News reported that major wildfires are burning across south-western France and central Spain after a summer of severe European heatwaves, forcing more than 300,000 people to leave their homes. In France, the hardest-hit area is Gironde near Bordeaux, where more than 200,000 people have been evacuated. A fire there has consumed over 162 square miles, or 420 square kilometres, in under four days and has moved to within about 15 kilometres of southern Bordeaux.

In Spain, authorities estimate that fires around the Madrid region have burned about 254 square miles, or 660 square kilometres, since 1 July. Officials in Madrid described the situation as unprecedented for the region, while BBC reported that the wider Spanish fire season could become the country’s worst in roughly 20 years. The fires have also raised concern in France because they are near military and industrial facilities, including sites linked to missiles, rocket motors and hazardous chemical processing.

Firefighters in France and Spain are using aircraft to drop water and fire retardant, while ground teams cut firebreaks to remove vegetation and slow the flames. In Gironde, BBC said around 2,500 firefighters, 1,500 military personnel and 1,200 police officers and gendarmes are involved. Local official Jean Luc Gleyze told the BBC that resources were still insufficient.

The BBC linked the fires’ intensity to hotter, drier conditions associated with climate change, which can help flames spread more quickly. The Gironde fire has generated a rare fire thunderstorm, a dangerous phenomenon that can produce lightning and complicate firefighting. Forecasters warned that hotter, drier weather could worsen conditions in the coming week.