With wildfires raging in France and Spain, fire crews race against next heat wave

Key Points:

• French authorities ordered the evacuation of nearly 4,000 people from tourist sites on the Atlantic coast due to a large wildfire west of Bordeaux, which has burned 420 square kilometers and forced 220,000 evacuations.
• Firefighters have stabilized but not extinguished the Gironde fire, with rising temperatures and low humidity posing risks of renewed flare-ups; 103 kilometers of firebreaks have been completed to contain the blaze.
• In neighboring Landes, progress allowed about 15,000 evacuees to return home after a separate wildfire was fixed, though authorities warned that hot spots and drought could still cause flare-ups.
• Spain faces worsening wildfire conditions amid its fourth heat wave of the summer, with the largest fire on record burning over 500 square kilometers near Ávila and over 100,000 hectares burned nationwide this year.
• The Spanish government declared a national emergency for wildfires for the first time, evacuating nearly 110,000 people and calling for a national pact to address wildfires exacerbated by climate change.