Wildfires Force 200,000 to Flee France and Spain

Nearly 200,000 people have been forced from their homes in France and Spain amid massive, uncontained wildfires, as Spanish firefighters struggled to contain blazes near Madrid.

Carlos Novillo, Madrid's regional emergency management chief, said the fire was "at its peak and is currently beyond the capacity of firefighters to contain," with erratic winds threatening to fan the flames further.

Fires Merge Near Madrid

Spain's interior ministry said flames have burned nearly 10,000 hectares in the Madrid region and 13,000-15,000 hectares in neighboring Avila province.

This is an area combined more than twice the size of Paris.

Two separate wildfires merged Friday into one blaze that was close to joining a third fire in the Castilla y Leon region.

Madrid regional leader Isabel Diaz Ayuso called it "the worst wildfire in our region's history," citing "very high temperatures and ceaseless winds."

More than 430 elderly people and people with disabilities were evacuated from five care homes in the region.

Cap Ferret Peninsula Emptied

In France, authorities evacuated suburbs near Bordeaux, including Le Haillan, Eysines and Merignac, while roughly 44,000 people fled the upmarket Cap Ferret peninsula by boat and car as flames threatened its only access road.

More than 50 houses there have been destroyed.

French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said over 141,000 people have been evacuated from the Gironde and Landes regions, calling the fires "a level that has never been seen before."

Military and International Help Mobilized

France deployed its army, including a military transport aircraft, to assist firefighting operations, and President Macron has appealed to the European Union for help.

About 100 Paris firefighters were also sent to reinforce crews, with officials warning the deployment could slow emergency response times in the capital.

Spain's national emergency declaration, its first ever for a wildfire, unlocked federal funding for the crisis.