Tens of thousands evacuated from French tourist spot as wildfires spread

French authorities have ordered the evacuation of the entirety of the Cap Ferret peninsula on the south-west coast, with hundreds of people escaping the area by boat.

Tens of thousands of people are being evacuated from thetourism destination west of Bordeaux, as firefighters continue to battle what the local prefect has described as an "XXL fire" in the Gironde region.

The fires, which began on Tuesday, have burned for days, with officials saying 10,000 hectares (almost 25,000 acres) had been consumed by the flames.

Meanwhile, the government in Spain has declared a national emergency as wildfires burn out of control in several areas close to the capital Madrid.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez spoke of a "dramatic situation" and urged people to take great care. Three fires were burning west of Madrid, at Villa del Prado and San Martín de Valdeiglesias.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said 40,000 people had either been or were in the process of being evacuated from the Cap Ferret peninsula, which has the Atlantic on one side and the Bay of Arcachon on the other.

Local prefect Sophie Brocas said 53 homes had been lost as well as a campsite, but that 2,000 houses had been saved.

A local councillor said 2,000 evacuees from the peninsula had already arrived by boat in the port of Arcachon on the south side of the bay.

Fire and rescue chief Marc Vermeulen said the wildfire had spread rapidly at the end of Thursday and into the early hours of Friday. Authorities then took the decision on Friday morning to begin the evacuation of the town of Arès, which lies south-east of Lège-Cap Ferret on the Bay of Arcachon.

Further down the Atlantic coast, around the town of Biscarrosse in France's Landes region, another major fire that began on Thursday afternoon has prompted the evacuations of more than 23,000 people.

About 18,000 people in Biscarrosse and 5,000 in Parentis-en-Born had to leave their homes, campsites, a nursing home and a summer camp.

Landes prefect Gilles Clavreul said the fire around Biscarrosse was not going to be out by the end of Friday, with winds of up to 50km/h (31mph) and temperatures of 36-37C.

He added that 105 homes and other buildings had so far been identified as either partially or completely destroyed by the flames.

No further casualties have been reported overnight in south-west France, although two firefighters died on Tuesday while tackling a blaze near Bordeaux airport.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday night the wildfire situation in the country was "very tense" - especially in the Gironde region.

The European Union has sent three planes and two helicopters to help the French fire effort, and another four planes to Spain.

Headmaster David Morton, 53, from Gloucester had been on holiday with his wife and sons when they received an emergency alert via text overnight on Thursday instructing them to evacuate.

The family were staying in a house in Petit Piquey, along the peninsula, and were woken up at 03:00 local time (01:00 GMT) by emergency texts and an alert on the property's landline.

"We got in our car, packed everything up as quickly as we could... and then set off and joined a very long, slow-moving queue of traffic," he told the BBC.

"Everyone was driving with their lights on, driving very slowly – there was lots of fire service people, ambulances, police on the other side of the road controlling things and we could see several fires in the distance as we drove."

As they drove past the fire near Lège, Mr Morton described the flames as "enormous".

"You could see the whole forest was on fire and that really brought it home what a major fire it was."

He described the evacuation as "well-controlled" with people being "very respectful and sensible".

"It's different from seeing it on the television… seeing it blazing out of control despite hundreds and hundreds of firemen and women helping."

The Cap Ferret peninsula has a year-round population of just under 8,000 but that can swell by 10 times that number in peak season.

Around 20,000 people within the Gironde region had been evacuated on Thursday many of whom were visitors to campsites on the peninsula.

Further evacuations also took place from La Porge on Thursday night which Ms Brocas said had taken place "calmly".

She added that homes in evacuated areas would be monitored to prevent any vandalism.

"Significant resources" remain on the ground tackling the blaze while additional ground and air reinforcements are due in the coming hours.

The public has been told not to go to the affected areas.

In Spain, firefighters are tackling wildfires in several areas not far from Madrid and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska declared a national emergency as fires burned at Villa del Prado and San Martín de Valdeiglesias in the Madrid region and at Burgohondo in Ávila.

Pedro Sánchez said forest fires were "ravaging thousands of hectares" and affecting numerous communities.

"The government has deployed all available resources. It will stand by your side during the emergency and in the recovery."

Local emergency services said more than 10,000 people had been evacuated.

An update on Friday morning described both fires as "out of control" although their progression in recent hours had been "limited".

Aldea del Fresno and some other areas in the region have been evacuated.

Europe is the fastest-warming continent, heating at more than twice the global average since the 1980s, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service. That rapid rise in temperatures is making its summers hotter and, particularly in the south, drier.

The hotter, drier conditions leave soils, trees and other vegetation with less moisture, creating the fuel in which wildfires can take hold. A spark is still needed - most often from human activity, usually accidental but sometimes deliberate, or from lightning.

Once a fire starts, extreme heat, dry vegetation and strong winds can help it spread faster, burn more intensely and become much harder to control.

How forests and landscapes are managed also matters: accumulated vegetation and abandoned land can provide more fuel for fires. But the European Environment Agency has said "climate change has increased forest fire risk across Europe", with the greatest danger expected in southern Europe.

Additional reporting by BBC climate editor Justin Rowlatt.

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