BORDEAUX/MADRID, July 25, (v7n) – Unchecked wildfires raging Saturday in France's southwest and near Spain's capital Madrid have forced 267,000 people to flee and prompted Paris to deploy its military, as firefighters battled around the clock for days against infernos fuelled by tinderbox conditions.

France evacuated 197,000 people from areas around Bordeaux—including crowded vacation spots—in what Interior Minister Laurent Nunez described as "probably" the biggest peacetime evacuation the country has seen. In Spain, 70,000 people were evacuated from villages west of Madrid, where Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the priority was "to save lives."

The sky over Madrid was covered by a haze of brown-grey smoke, with thick black ash coating roof terraces, AFP journalists saw. Residents forced to keep windows closed by the smell of throat-irritating smoke. Jacqueline Villafranca, 38, who evacuated to Madrid with her family, said: "Here you can breathe normally—yesterday it was unbearable."

So far, no civilian deaths have been reported, but two French firefighters died earlier this week near Bordeaux. Nunez said the Gironde wildfire "was less intense last night than we feared," while Madrid authorities said overnight conditions "greatly aided the fight." But Sanchez warned: "We are going to have some complex hours ahead because although the temperatures have gone down, we do not know exactly how the wind will develop."

Europe's Fastest-Warming Continent

The fires advanced quickly due to tinderbox conditions worsened by successive heatwaves since May. Scientists say global warming is increasing droughts and making weather emergencies more extreme and frequent; Europe is the fastest-warming continent.

Both countries received EU firefighting aircraft. France deployed 1,000 soldiers and ordered an A400M military transport aircraft modified to release up to 20 tonnes of fire retardant, while 100 firefighters from Paris were also deployed.

Emergency shelters were set up in schools and gymnasiums. Nuala Kelly, 75, an Irish tourist, said: "Never, never, never, never, never—and I've travelled all over the world." Olivier Stewart, 38, who fled Merignac with his family, said his children were "the most stressed."

Historic Record

Fires across France have burned nearly 98,000 hectares—a "historic record," Nunez said. In the southwest alone, flames consumed over 32,000 hectares and destroyed at least 100 buildings. Blazes west of Madrid have burned up to 25,000 hectares, with two of three major wildfires merging and threatening to form a massive inferno just kilometres from the capital. Spain's delegate in Madrid warned that "erratic gusts" were making the fight difficult but expressed optimism that a dip in temperatures offered "a real opportunity."