A wildfire threatening Bordeaux forced 55,000 people to evacuate overnight Sunday, pushing the number displaced across the region to 250,000 as neighboring Spain battled expanding blazes along its east coast.
Authorities in France's Gironde region, where Bordeaux is located, issued overnight evacuation orders for five more localities southwest of the historic city, as shifting, gusting winds and arid conditions complicated massive efforts to limit the spread of the monster blaze that has burned out of control since midweek.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said that after a "difficult" night for fire crews, "the situation remains very unfavorable."
"The fire again became extremely virulent again and unpredictable, generating its own winds and advancing erratically toward the Bordeaux metropolitan area," Nunez posted on X.
"It became calmer by the end of the night," the minister added.
