A man in his 70s was found dead in his car in a ravine in Manises, eastern Spain, as wildfires raging across France and Spain forced more than 270,000 people from their homes – the first confirmed fatality of a disaster that has prompted a national emergency in Spain and the biggest peacetime evacuation in French history.
The body was discovered by firefighters after they extinguished a blaze in the Salt de l'Aigua ravine, according to local media reports. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez warned of “complex hours ahead”, as the country declared a national emergency over wildfires for the first time.
“Over 270,000 flee wildfires in France and Spain; first victim found in Spain as flames threaten Bordeaux and Madrid.”
In France, around 200,000 people have been evacuated from the south-western Gironde and Landes regions, including the entire Cap Ferret peninsula, where hundreds escaped by boat. The French interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, said the evacuations constituted “probably” the biggest peacetime evacuation the country has ever seen.
The flames, fuelled by persistent heatwaves and strong winds, have crept within 20 miles of Bordeaux, with smoke blotting out the sun and an acrid smell reported in the city. “We could see the clouds becoming darker and darker,” said Yoan Urien, who fled his home in Biscarrosse.
France has mobilised the military, deploying 1,500 soldiers, and a huge Airbus A400M Atlas military cargo plane was due to drop fire retardant on Saturday, joining 18 other aircraft. French President Emmanuel Macron activated an EU emergency mechanism, prompting Portugal, Croatia, Slovakia and Sweden to send planes and helicopters. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said “Europe stands with France and Spain”.
In Spain, about 70,000 people have been evacuated, with 20,000 told to remain indoors. Two of three blazes outside Madrid merged on Friday, and regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso called it “the worst fire in the history of the region.” The flames have shut down a facility for US space agency Nasa 37 miles west of the Spanish capital.
British tourists described the chaos. Nicola Smith, 49, from Jersey, was woken at 3.30am at a Holiday Inn near Bordeaux airport and told the hotel was closing due to approaching smoke. “It was a shock to the system,” she said. Another British couple, Maisie and Caleb, said ash had covered their pool and turned their feet black. Tourist Spencer Randall, who fled with his family, called the blaze “frightening”.
Interior Minister Nuñez said almost 98,000 hectares have burned in France since the beginning of the year – “an historic record”. The fires have generated a rare pyrocumulonimbus, a thunderstorm caused by a large fire, seen for the first time in France on Friday.
With temperatures set to rise sharply again next week, and winds still fanning the flames, officials fear the worst may yet be to come.