Wildfires Are Out Of Control In France And Spain. Hundreds Of Thousands Are Fleeing

Wildfires in the south of France have forced the evacuation of 300,000 people and have now spilled over into Spain.

CNBC reported that French President Emmanuel Macron would hold a crisis cabinet meeting on Monday to continue addressing the situation. Meanwhile, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez was visiting areas of the country already affected by the fires in Valencia.

France's Interior Minister Laurent Nunez wrote on X that Sunday was "another tough night on the wildfire front" adding that weather conditions remained "highly unfavorable."

Among the hardest hit areas was Gironde, where the fire had burned 103,000 acres and forced 220,000 people to flee since the fires began. Nunez said that Sunday night the fire had become "extremely virulent and unpredictable," adding that five municipalities had to be evacuated just last night.

CNBC reported that the fire had also burned about 190,000 acres of the Avila and Toledo areas in Western Madrid, forcing thousands of evacuations in those areas as well.

In the Landes area of France, 36,000 people were evacuated, while about 3,000 people were evacuated in the Var. Spain also reported about several thousand evacuees. According to the Associated Press, the total number of people evacuated between the two countries is at least 330,000.

"The State's absolute priority remains the protection of the population. I once again call on everyone to exercise the utmost vigilance: in a context where weather conditions remain particularly unfavorable, the slightest imprudence can have dramatic consequences," Nunez said.

France has been attempting to mobilize resources to fight the blaze. Nunez noted that in the Gironde region in the southwest of France, 2,500 firefighters were deployed, along with 1,500 military personnel and about 1,200 police officers, along with 18 aerial resources.

"I want to reiterate my full support and deepest gratitude to the firefighters, the pilots of the Civil Security, the law enforcement forces, the military, the accredited civil security associations, the prefecture staff, the elected officials, and all the personnel mobilized relentlessly to protect the French people," Nunez said.

The AP reported that about a dozen countries have provided France and Spain with resources to fight the blaze, including planes, helicopters, and personnel. The wire service reported that the fires in Spain have been burning around Madrid and Valencia.

"What we are experiencing is not a series of isolated incidents. It is the consequence of a climate emergency that is making wildfires even more violent, heat waves more frequent," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said.