Extract from ABC News
In short:
Flames from wildfires burning in south-west France are creeping ever closer to Bordeaux.
The mayor of the historic wine city says, for now, an evacuation is not on the cards.
Hundreds of thousands of people have already been forced to leave their homes due to wildfires in France and Spain.
Wildfires have advanced towards the outskirts of the historic French wine city of Bordeaux, as France and Spain battle blazes that have already forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people.
About 220,000 people have been evacuated in France, while in Spain more than 75,000 people have been told to leave their homes and a further 30,000 ordered to shelter in place, authorities said.
In France, fires have ravaged the Cap Ferret peninsula on the Atlantic coast, a popular tourist destination, and spread through areas surrounding Bordeaux, where firefighters are trying to prevent the flames from reaching the regional capital.
Trees burn as a wildfire rages near Marcheprime, outside, Bordeaux. (AP: Emma Da Silva)
Bordeaux Mayor Thomas Cazenave described the blaze as being "at the gates of the metropolitan area," about 15 kilometres away at its closest point.
But Mr Cazenave said an evacuation was not on the cards for now.
"We have a fire that is not under control and which is moving in the direction of the city area," Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told France 2 TV on Sunday evening, local time.
"The overall situation is very unfavourable; we are in a situation that is unprecedented."
France's interior minister says the situation remains very unfavourable around Bordeaux. (AP: Emma Da Silva)
Mr Nunez said authorities would continue to assess the situation calmly and realistically.
As the blaze advanced, police went door-to-door overnight in the municipalities of Marcheprime and Cestas, evacuating residents one home at a time.
In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited fire-hit areas in Avila, one of three central provinces affected by major blazes, alongside Madrid and Toledo.
Flames have devastated more than 50,000 hectares of countryside in Avila, making it the biggest wildfire in Spain's recent history, according to Environment Minister Sara Aagesen.
Flames emerge from a wildfire in San Martin de Valdeiglesias, Avila. (Reuters: Ana Beltran)
Spain battles multiple blazes
A separate blaze in Spain's eastern Castellon province has ravaged over 4,300 hectares, regional authorities said.
"The fire is out of control; it's very difficult to extinguish from a technical standpoint, especially because of the adverse weather conditions that will continue throughout the day," the regional leader of Valencia, Juanfran Perez, told reporters near the site.
The wildfire has entered the Sierra de Espadan natural park, which contains large forests of pine trees and cork oaks.
The fires are the latest disasters linked to prolonged drought and successive heatwaves that scientists say have been intensified by climate change.
France has been dealing with high summer temperatures. (AP: Emma Da Silva)
In both Bordeaux and Avila, July high temperatures have averaged 32 degrees Celsius, almost 6C above the month's normal high between 1961 and 1990, according to the Reuters Climate Monitor.
International aid mobilised
Under the European Union's civil protection mechanism, Greece and Italy have each sent two Canadair firefighting aircraft to Spain, while Portugal has deployed more than 100 military personnel along with equipment.
Two more planes will arrive "as soon as possible" from Türkiye, the Spanish interior ministry said on X.
Mr Sanchez said his government would declare a civil protection emergency for the central provinces plagued by the wildfires, unlocking additional recovery funding.
Smoke rises from a wildfire in La Vilavella, Castellon. (Reuters: Eva Manez)
More than 150,000 hectares have burned across Spain since January, he said, six times the area destroyed during the same period last year.
While wildfires have long been a feature of Spain's summers, Mr Sanchez said their growing scale and intensity, fuelled by increasingly extreme weather, required policies grounded in climate science.
'Incalculable' damage'
King Felipe VI, visiting an emergency shelter in Villamanta on Madrid's western outskirts on Sunday, said the wildfires had caused "incalculable" damage to Spain's natural heritage.
"We had a real scare," said Azucena Paguada, one of those evacuated to the Villamanta gym-turned-shelter.
"The Guardia Civil came to our house and made us leave, telling us we were in danger."
Another evacuee, 70-year-old Margarita, showed the stains on her T-shirt, which she has been wearing for four days.
"The queen came to say hello, and I was wearing this dirty thing," she added with a sigh.
More fires in Scotland, Italy
In the highlands of Scotland, as many as 500 firefighters have been dealing with a large blaze within Cairngorms National Park since July 15.
Residents of the village of Nethy Bridge, who were evacuated on Friday evening after a change in the weather conditions, were allowed to return to their homes late on Saturday.
A helicopter flies over the Cairngorms National Park amid an ongoing wildfire. (Reuters: Russell Cheyne)
In Italy, several bushfires forced the closure for several hours of a southern section of the Rome ring road as well as of a motorway leading into the capital, causing major traffic disruption.
In Italy's southern Puglia region, tourists were evacuated from seaside resorts due to a large wildfire in the Gargano area, the national fire department said. Some were taken away via sea by the coast guard, the ANSA news agency added.
More fires led to the temporary suspension of railway traffic around the city of Acireale in eastern Sicily and the eastern Adriatic line south of the city of Termoli, rail company RFI said.
Pope Leo, speaking from his summer residence of Castel Gandolfo outside Rome, offered spiritual support.
"In light of the devastating wildfires that have affected various areas of France and Spain in recent days, I wish to express my solidarity and closeness, and I invite everyone to pray for those affected and for the rescue workers engaged in relief efforts," he said.
Reuters/AP/AFP
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