Wildfires in France and Spain have forced more than a quarter of a million people from their homes, with authorities warning that the crisis could worsen around Bordeaux. The fires’ speed and intensity, driven by extreme heat, dry vegetation and shifting winds, have overwhelmed normal firefighting efforts and prompted major evacuations.

In southwestern France, a blaze about 30 kilometres west of Bordeaux led to evacuations from western suburbs, towns and villages, while soldiers, an adapted A400M aircraft and 1.5 million smoke-filtering masks were deployed. Around 70,000 people were evacuated in central Spain, where fires had already burned 130,000 hectares this year, above the country’s recent annual average of 100,000 hectares; dozens of French firefighters were injured, but no deaths were reported.