Wildfires threaten Bordeaux as France, Spain battle blazes
Wildfires advanced towards the outskirts of the historic French city of Bordeaux, at the heart of the country's winelands, as France and Spain battled blazes that have already forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people.
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Video Summary
AI GeneratedWildfires are threatening the city of Bordeaux in France and causing widespread devastation across southeastern France and parts of Spain. Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated as firefighters struggle to contain the blazes, which are fueled by extreme heat waves and prolonged drought linked to climate change.
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As wildfires advance ever closer to the historic French city of Bordeaux,
police have been going house-to-house ordering evacuations.
The city's mayor, Thomas Cazeneuve, said on Sunday that the blazes were a mere
nine miles from the city's main entry points.
More than 220,000 people have already been evacuated in southeastern France
after fires ravaged the Quai de la Peninsula on the Atlantic coast,
which is a popular tourist destination.
Firefighters are now trying to prevent the flames from reaching Bordeaux,
the regional capital in the heart of France's winelands and home to more than 270,000 people.
It's also currently housing those who've been evacuated from around the region,
including 86-year-old Jean-Claude Lion.
He arrived in the shelter in the early hours of Friday
and still has no idea how long he might have to stay.
Bordeaux's mayor told Reuters he was looking into offering
longer-term accommodation for evacuees.
Across the border in Spain, authorities say 75,000 people have been evacuated
from their homes and more than 30,000 ordered to shelter in place.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said complicated hours lay ahead.
He's been visiting fire-hit areas in Avila,
one of three central provinces affected by major blazes alongside Madrid and Toledo.
These fires are the latest disasters linked to prolonged drought and successive heat waves,
which scientists say have been intensified by climate change.
In both Bordeaux and Avila, July's high temperatures have averaged 90 degrees Fahrenheit
or 32 degrees Celsius.
According to the Reuters climate monitor, it's about 11 degrees Fahrenheit
above the month's normal high between 1961 and 1990.