Thousands of residents and vacationers fled raging wildfires across France and Spain on Friday as fast-moving blazes, fueled by extreme heat, drought and strong winds, forced mass evacuations, overwhelmed firefighters and prompted both countries to seek emergency assistance from the European Union.
The worst fires were burning in southwestern France near Bordeaux, where flames tore through forests and tourist destinations along the Atlantic coast, forcing more than 25,000 people to evacuate campsites, holiday homes and nearby communities.
Authorities said the largest fire had consumed about 4,800 hectares (11,860 acres), an area nearly twice the size of Manhattan, while another blaze south of Bordeaux destroyed about 1,200 hectares (2,965 acres).
President Emmanuel Macron said France had activated the European Union's Civil Protection Mechanism, securing firefighting aircraft and helicopters from Croatia, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Slovakia as officials struggled to contain multiple large fires.
"The situation remains under very high tension in the face of the fires ravaging the country, particularly in Gironde," Macron wrote on X.
