Macron heads to fire-ravaged southwest France
President Emmanuel Macron will go to an area ravaged by a forest fire in southwest France to show support to firefighters and local officials, his office said.
The fire west of the city of Bordeaux, which has ravaged 42,000 hectares (103,000 acres) of pine forest – an area larger than Detroit – and destroyed 240 homes since Wednesday, has waned after drizzle overnight but has not yet been contained, authorities said.
France’s interior minister says monster wildfire in southwestern Gironde region has stopped growing
“It hasn’t progressed during the night,” the minister, Laurent Nuñez, said. “We have to remain very concentrated, very determined, to go at any moment.”
He spoke after French President Emmanuel Macron held a crisis meeting Monday focusing on the massive firefighting effort in the Gironde region and on wildfires elsewhere.
The Gironde blaze has burned an area four times the size of Paris. The region's prefecture said the situation overnight had remained “globally stable” — a change from previous days where the giant blaze raging since last week edged closer to the wine region city of Bordeaux.
Spain to start first return of fire evacuees as wildfires advance slows
Spanish authorities said they planned to start to allow some people evacuated from wildfires near Madrid to return on Monday in a sign of progress in fighting some of the worst forest fires in the country's history. the broadcaster's Sarah Morris reports from Madrid.
Wildfire threatens French defence sites ArianeGroup, Dassault and Thales
More than 42,000 hectares have now burned in Gironde, southwestern France as wildfires push closer to Bordeaux. Authorities say 240 homes have already been destroyed by the flames, which are now also threatening some of France's most sensitive defence and space industry sites.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez speaks after crisis meeting on France's devastating wildfires
Apocalyptic scenes as firefighters battle raging blaze in Spain
Wildfires were still burning in the provinces of Avila and Madrid, Spain, on Monday, July 27, with reports saying that the fires burning in Avila were the largest in the country’s recent history. Spain declared a national emergency on Friday due to the fires.
Spain faces 'decisive' two days to contain wildfires: minister
Spain faces a "decisive" two days to control and contain wildfires that have forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate before temperatures rise, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said Monday.
"Today and tomorrow are absolutely decisive days, because from Wednesday the weather forecasts become highly unfavourable for firefighting efforts," he told reporters.
French tech company Lectra temporarily closes its Bordeaux site
French technology and software company Lectra announced on Monday the temporary closure of its site at Bordeaux-Cestas as a result of the wildfires nearby, while adding that no damage had been noted to its facilities there.
Macron calls crisis meeting as monster wildfires drive 250,000 from their homes
French President Emmanuel Macron called a crisis meeting Monday focusing on monster, uncontrolled wildfires that have forced more than 250,000 people to flee their homes, amid a first glimmer of hope that the spread of the largest blaze may have slowed. the broadcaster's James André reports.
Advance of wildfires near Madrid has slowed, say officials
Wildfires that have ravaged areas west of Madrid "slowed their advance" during the night although they remain a threat, the regional government said Monday.
"The situation has improved slightly, but the fire is still active," the Madrid regional government said in a statement, urging residents to remain "extremely cautious".
Wildfires have impacted French economy like a 'clap of thunder', finance minister says
The wildfires hitting the area around Bordeaux in southwestern France have been delivered a shock to the regional economy, French finance minister Roland Lescure on Monday.
"It's like a clap of thunder for an area which could have done without this," Lescure told reporters.
Firefighters in France and Spain struggle to contain 'monster' wildfires
Spain to start first return of fire evacuees Monday near Madrid: official
Spanish authorities said they planned to start to allow some people evacuated from wildfires near Madrid to return on Monday, in a sign of progress in fighting some of the worst forest fires in the country's history.
Francisco Martin Aguirre, a government delegate for the Madrid region, told reporters late Sunday that authorities planned to reopen a campsite where 4,500 people had been evacuated and also allow elderly residents back home in another area.
115,000 hectares burned in France since the start of the year
Some 115,000 hectares (284,000 acres) have burned in wildfires in France since the start of the year, "far more than anything we have seen in the past", Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said Sunday.
France is currently battling 30 to 40 wildfires daily, Nunez told France 2 television. Conditions remained "very unfavourable" on major fronts, including the southwestern regions of Gironde and Landes, and in the Mediterranean Var region.
A total of 2,500 firefighters, including a Swiss firefighting team, 1,500 military personnel and around 1,200 police have been deployed to Gironde, Nunez said earlier.
Macron to hold crisis cabinet meeting to discuss wildfires Monday morning
French President Emmanuel Macron will chair a crisis cabinet meeting Monday morning to discuss the wildfires ravaging several areas of southwest France, his office said.
Gironde cancels holiday camp activites
In France, the prefect of the southwestern Gironde region and where the country's fires are concentrated, urged tourists to stay away and seek "other destinations".
"The wind is changing so much, it's really the fire calling the shots. We just have to go with it," a firefighter said.
Around 220,000 people have been evacuated in the region, with 45 campsites forced to shut, ruining the holiday plans of around 40,000 people.
The Gironde local authority said early Monday it had banned holiday camps, including Scouts' trips involving overnight stays and holiday camps for people with disabilities.
Back from Gironde: the broadcaster's Luke Shrago gives firsthand account of fires
As wildfires continue to ravage southwest France, forcing around 250,000 people from their homes in one of the country's biggest peacetime evacuations, the broadcaster's Luke Shrago has witnessed the crisis unfold firsthand. He joined us to share what he's seen on the ground.
Fire in France's Bordeaux area 'broadly stable overnight', says local authority
A massive wildfire in France's Gironde department, home to Bordeaux, remained "broadly stable overnight," the local authority said Monday.
"The situation remained broadly stable overnight, with no major developments. Security and emergency services remain fully mobilised and are continuing their operations on the ground," the local authority said in a statement.
Recap: Bordeaux under threat as France and Spain battle 'unprecedented' wildfires
Yesterday's key developments:
- France and Spain battled worsening wildfires as 300,000 fled their homes in the two countries.
- Bordeaux is "ready for anything", its mayor said.
- France's Gironde region prefect said there would be "no return to evacuated regions until the fire is under control".
- Fires forced more than 400 in Italy to evacuate by boat.
- French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said that 115,000 hectares had been burned in France's wildfires so far this year.
- Spain's government said it would declare a civil protection emergency.
(the broadcaster with AFP, AP and Reuters)
