Wildfire now nine miles away from French city of Bordeaux, mayor warns - BBC

What the report says

BBC News reported that officials in south-west France are preparing for possible further evacuations as a major wildfire in the Gironde region has advanced to about 15km, or nine miles, from Bordeaux. Bordeaux mayor Thomas Cazenave said the city was getting ready for a range of scenarios, including receiving large numbers of evacuees if authorities expand evacuation orders.

The fire is burning as France and Spain face another round of extreme heat, with some areas expected to exceed 40C. Gironde and Landes were placed under a yellow heat alert, with conditions forecast to worsen around Wednesday. President Emmanuel Macron, visiting the affected Gironde area, described the wildfire emergency as unprecedented and said crews had contained a smaller Landes fire but still faced danger in Gironde from rising temperatures and wind.

The BBC cited Cestas mayor Jerome Steffe, whose town lies south of Bordeaux, saying 17,000 residents had been moved out overnight and describing the local situation as catastrophic. He said 42,000 hectares had burned in the region and 240 houses had been destroyed. French officials also reported a wider fire season toll of 116,085 hectares burned and 13,566 fire starts since January, with Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez warning that the Gironde blaze remained highly unpredictable.

In Spain, the BBC said a national emergency over wildfires west of Madrid had entered its fifth day, with more than 100,000 people evacuated and satellite imagery showing a burn area exceeding 27,000 hectares. The report added broader context that Europe is warming faster than the global average, increasing heatwaves, water stress and wildfire intensity.