More than 300,000 people have fled their homes in towns and villages across France and Spain due to the wildfires threatening Madrid and Bordeaux, and as a new blaze erupted in the Vall d’Uixó region in Spain’s east.The fire that broke out near Valencia on Saturday was “absolutely out of control” by the evening, according to Spain’s science minister Diana Morant. More than 16,000 people were evacuated, while additional resources were expected to arrive from Madrid on Sunday.Local firefighters posted a video on X on Saturday night that showed flames shooting tens of metres into the sky from the blaze that originated in the Vall d’Uixó, 45km north of Valencia. “Fires acquire characteristics that occasionally exceed the extinguishing capacity of any fire service in the world,” the post said.The number of people evacuated in the Gironde area of France climbed to 220,000, including 55,000 from Bordeaux suburbs last night, according to local officials.The local administration’s press office said the blaze spread quickly early in the night due to dry vegetation and wind.The city’s mayor said the fire “is still at the gates of the metropolitan area,” having advanced to about 14km from Bordeaux at its closest point.The A63 highway, a major axis between Bordeaux and the north of Spain, was closed over a 60km stretch, and rail services south of the French city were suspended until further notice, according to the national railway operator SNCF.Smoke rises from the wildfire north of the Arcachon basin near Lege-Cap-Ferret, southwestern France. Photograph: Romain Perrocheau/AFP via Getty Images Firefighters spray water towards the wildfire burning in Ares, France. Photograph: Romain Perrocheau/AFP via Getty Images Children swim at a beach while a large smoke plume from a distant wildfire rises across the water in Le Porge, France on Saturday. Photograph: David Sepeau/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images Meanwhile, fires that have forced mass evacuations in Madrid and Ávila were moving slower on Sunday morning as the weather improved, although Spanish authorities said they had not yet been brought under control. Nearly 100,000 people have been evacuated from the area, according to regional official Carlos Novillo.Firefighters found an elderly man dead in car on Saturday in Manises, in the Valencia region, as they brought a small blaze under control. So far no casualties have been reported from the large fires that are raging elsewhere near Madrid and Valencia. – Bloomberg