Wildfires continuing to sweep across France and Spain have forced fresh mass evacuations, with a further 55,000 people ordered out of six towns south of Bordeaux in the Gironde region. The blaze in France has created its own erratic weather, including whirlwinds, and firefighters have described it as unmanageable, prompting the deployment of military reinforcements to clear brush and build fire breaks. The scale of the disaster matters because it now ranks among France's largest forest fires since the Second World War, with officials warning residents and tourists could face a lengthy wait before being allowed to return.

In France, some 42,000 hectares have burnt in the current fire, with about 98,000 hectares lost nationwide since the start of the year, and a 60km stretch of the A63 motorway to Spain has been closed. President Emmanuel Macron pledged his government would help the country rebuild, while the interior minister warned the fire would take a long time to bring under control. Spain has been similarly hard hit, with more than 90,000 people evacuated around Madrid and Ávila, further evacuations ordered near Toledo, and a death confirmed in a fire in València; across both countries, over 330,000 people have now been evacuated.