Spain Declares State of Emergency as Wildfires Spread; France Seeks EU Assistance

Wildfires continue to spread across parts of Europe, prompting Spain to declare a state of emergency, while France has requested assistance from the European Union to help contain the blazes.

On Friday (July 24), thousands of people were evacuated from affected areas as firefighters battled rapidly advancing fires.

French authorities ordered the complete evacuation of the popular tourist destination of the Cap Ferret Peninsula after thick smoke and flames approached residential neighborhoods. Officials said around 63,000 people were evacuated from the area, with many transported to safety by boat.

Spain's Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said more than 10,000 residents had been evacuated from towns in the mountainous region west of Madrid. Firefighters are working to prevent three separate wildfires in the region and the neighboring province of Ávila from merging into a single, larger blaze.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told local television that a wildfire that broke out near Saumos, north of Cap Ferret, had nearly cut off the peninsula's only access road. He described it as the largest wildfire France has experienced so far this season.

According to Nuñez, the fire has burned approximately 10,000 hectares of land and damaged around 80 homes, of which nearly 50 have been completely destroyed.

Source: Reuters.