France and Spain wildfires: Bordeaux threatened as lightning storm created

Summary

Firefighters are tackling major wildfires in France and Spain, with one blaze around nine miles (15 km) from the south of Bordeaux
A giant fire thunderstorm fuelled by its own winds and lightning has been created in the Gironde region, in France - the BBC's weather presenter explains why it occurred
The Bordeaux fire did not get worse overnight, our correspondent reports - the winds eased and there was even a little rain
A British woman living near the area tells the BBC it felt like being "in a warzone"
Our maps show the parts of France and Spain affected by the fires
More than 300,000 people have been evacuated across both countries, with many sleeping in sports halls or exhibition centres
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Live Reporting

Edited by Manish Pandey, Kieran Kelly, and Adam Goldsmith

Specialist aircraft used to slow spread of wildfirespublished at 12:09 BST
Image source, Reuters
Image caption,
A Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 MR aircraft drops fire retardant over a forest near Bordeaux on Monday
Specialist aircraft are being used to battle wildfires in France, dropping fire retardant on vegetation and land where the wildfires are burning.
The retardant works by depleting the fire of oxygen and slowing the rate of fuel combustion.
It is usually sprayed around a wildfire on vegetation and land that is fire-prone to stop the flames from spreading to that area.
The repeated use of the bright substance also acts as a visual aid for pilots and firefighters, as after a few days it can fade due to sun exposure.
Image source, Getty Images
France and Spain wildfires 'uncontrolled' with fears over new heatwavepublished at 11:55 BST
Image source, EPA/Shutterstock
If you're just joining us, here's a round-up of the latest developments as firefighters continue to tackle large-scale wildfires in France and Spain.
France
- One wildfire is now just nine miles (15 km) from the south of Bordeaux, with the flames so intense they have created their own thunderstorms
- The Bordeaux fire did not worsen overnight, our correspondent Hugh Schofield reports - the winds eased and rainfall in some areas means the ground is damp
- President Emmanuel Macron is holding an emergency cabinet meeting, with another heatwave expected to make tackling the wildfires more difficult
- One Brit living near Bordeaux tells the BBC her home is like "a warzone", while one resident in the city says it is blanketed in a "thick smoke haze"
Spain
- Elderly people who were evacuated from a town to the west of Madrid are being allowed to return to their homes - a total of 60,000 people were forced to flee from the region
- Although the Madrid wildfire has slowed its advance on the Spanish capital, officials say it remains "active and uncontrolled"
- A smaller blaze is also spreading near Valencia in the east of the country

New wildfire spreads near Valencia with heat to intensifypublished at 11:43 BST
While Spanish authorities struggle to contain a massive wildfire in the Madrid region, another blaze has broken out in the east, near Valencia.
About 15,000 people have been evacuated from the coastal town of Vall d'Uixó, where an estimated 6,500 hectares have been scorched.
As Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visits the area, one government official has warned that weather conditions are expected to worsen.
People are 'anxious and fearful' in Bordeaux, local resident sayspublished at 11:20 BST
Image source, GETTY
Image caption,
A smoky haze has descended over Bordeaux as the wildfires approach the city
People in Bordeaux are starting to wear masks as a "thick smoke haze" is blown into the city, a resident tells the BBC.
Pierre Pourquery says there was calm in the city, but people are now feeling "anxious and fearful" as the wildfire gets closer to Bordeaux.
He lives on the east side of Bordeaux, and invited friends to come and stay with him who evacuated from the west of the city which is closer to the blaze.
Pourquery says the main danger for people is the toxicity of the smoke and that some people are finding it difficult to breathe.

Bordeaux at risk as temperatures forecast to risepublished at 11:02 BST
President Macron is currently holding a crisis cabinet meeting in response to the wildfires ravaging parts of southern France.
A huge fire in the Gironde region has forced the evacuation of more than 200,000 people and the blaze is now around just around nine miles (15 km) away from the south of Bordeaux.
Rain and favourable wind conditions meant the fires did not worsen overnight.
However, temperatures are set to increase again to around 40C later this week according to forecasts from France's weather office.
Gironde fire could take months to fully extinguish, senior official warnspublished at 10:47 BST
Image source, Getty Images
The wildfire in the Gironde region of France will likely burn "for many weeks" and could take months to fully extinguish, a senior official involved in the response has warned.
The intensity of the fire will decrease but it will take time to treat all affected areas, says Lieutenant Colonel David Annotel, spokesman for France's National Federation of Firefighters.
With another heatwave forecast this week, Annotel says the conditions become "favorable again for the fire and unfavorable for us".

Warning to be 'extremely cautious' despite fire slowing advance to Madridpublished at 10:32 BST
Wildfires burning to the west of Madrid remain "active and uncontrolled" despite slowing their advance towards Madrid, regional officials say.
The local government in Madrid has urged residents to be "extremely cautious" as the fire is still active.
Madrid's regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso has praised the work of hundreds of firefighters tackling the blazes and risking their lives.
"We have no words to thank them for their work," she says.
Where are the wildfires burning?published at 10:19 BST
Image source, EPA/Shuttershock
Image caption,
View of the fire in the municipality of Vall d'Uixò, Castellon, Spain
Spain
Wildfires have been burning in the Madrid region, forcing over 60,000 people to flee their homes.
A new wildfire is also spreading in the eastern region of Valencia, where officials fear weather conditions are intensifying.
France
France has been one of the worst-affected countries, with 42,000 hectares burnt in the south-west of the country, making it one of the largest fires since World War Two.
Firefighters are currently battling to contain a wildfire in the Gironde region, near the city of Bordeaux.
Italy
More than 400 people in Italy were evacuated by sea yesterday as a wildfire swept through parts of the southern Adriatic coast, including the province of Puglia.
A wildfire was also burning near Torretta, outside Palermo on the island of Sicily, on Sunday.
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Firefighters tackle a blaze near Torretta, outside Palermo on the island of Sicily

'It felt like we were in a warzone,' Brit living near Bordeaux tells BBCpublished at 10:01 BST
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Firefighters have been tackling blazes in forests near Bordeaux
A Brit living near Bordeaux says her community has "lost so much" and felt like a warzone due to the ongoing wildfire in the region.
Rachel Hanberry says her beachfront home in Biscarrose Plage, south-west of Bordeaux, is located next to the town's evacuation point.
"Everyone came here on Thursday night," she tells BBC 5 Live. "It felt like we were in a warzone, [there were] people with emergency blankets around their shoulders."
"People who had nowhere to go. We offered our home to people," she says.
She says the community has "lost so much", adding: "The stress and trauma that you feel as someone living here is immense."
Have you been affected by the fires? Get in touch here.
Thunder in a wildfire: What is a pyrocumulonimbus cloud?published at 09:42 BST
Helen Willetts
Lead weather presenter
Image source, EPA/Shutterstock
Image caption,
A pyrocumulonimbus cloud as seen over the village of Saumos, France, on Saturday
Wildfires are sustained by dry and warm weather with strong winds adding to the danger, moving the fires very quickly.
However, wildfires can also create their own winds and weather, like a pyrocumulonimbus cloud which is essentially a thunderstorm created by a very intense wildfire, as seen near Bordeaux.
When a large fire burns, it releases huge amounts of heat. This heat makes the air above the fire rise rapidly, carrying smoke, ash and water vapour high into the atmosphere.
As the air rises, it cools and the water vapour condenses into a cloud. If the fire is powerful enough and the atmosphere is unstable, that cloud can grow into a towering cumulonimbus, the same type of cloud associated with thunderstorms.
Therefore, if pyrocumulonimbus clouds become large enough, they too can produce lightning, which can then start new fires.
The winds within these clouds, like in thunderstorms, are more unpredictable and can spread out in all directions. They can also occasionally bring hail and rain.
Scientists sometimes describe these clouds as a fire-generated thunderstorm because the fire itself provides the energy needed to build the cloud.

Macron chairs crisis meeting as Spanish PM visits affected areaspublished at 09:27 BST
Image source, Reuters
Image caption,
Emmanuel Macron chairs a crisis meeting in response to wildfires
Top of the agenda for leaders in France and Spain today is addressing the wildfires which have caused displacement and destruction in their countries.
Just moments ago, French President Emmanuel Macron began a crisis meeting to discuss the country's response to wildfires, with one blaze around nine miles (15 km) from the south of Bordeaux.
Speaking on Saturday, Macron vowed to rebuild and repair damage from fires, adding that his government would "be there for as long as is needed".
In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is visiting the areas affected by Castellón forest fires including Vall d'Uixó, a town near Valencia where as many as 6,500 hectares have been scorched.
We'll bring you the latest from both leaders as soon as we have it.
Fire in Gironde town stable after rain overnight, says mayorpublished at 09:14 BST
Image source, EPA/Shutterstock
Image caption,
Firefighters battle flames in Marcheprime on Sunday evening
The situation in Marcheprime, a town in France's Gironde region, is "reassuring" following a burst of rain overnight, the local mayor has said.
Speaking on France Inter radio, Manuel Martinez says the fire in the area is stable after it rained for "about an hour" last night, making the ground damp.
He adds that the town remains vigilant due to the possibility of winds picking up again.

Another heatwave means more wildfires are likely - EU officialpublished at 08:55 BST
Image source, Reuters
Another heatwave in France is set to complicate efforts to tackle the blaze near Bordeaux, with weather forecasts predicting highs of up to 40C this week.
Eric Brocardi, spokesman for the National Firefighters Federation of France, says that in order to control the fire, it would need to rain "heavily for three days".
Hadja Lahbib, the EU's commissioner for crisis management, warns that more wildfires are likely as the summer goes on, adding: "Forecasters are predicting, unfortunately, another heatwave so we can expect other wildfires."
She also tells the BBC that damage from ongoing wildfires in Europe will likely surpass previous records.
"Last year, one million hectares burned during the summer and so we are expecting to face another historical, sad record because the season has started earlier in the year," Lahbib says.
Traffic builds as evacuated residents return home near Madridpublished at 08:31 BST
Residents are beginning to make their way home in parts of the Madrid region that were affected by the recent wildfire.
Traffic queues are forming near Cenicientos, a village in the south-west of the region, while elderly people have been told they can return to nearby San Martin de Valdeiglesias this morning.
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty Images

Some elderly evacuees can return in Madrid region, says officialpublished at 08:03 BST
Image source, Reuters
Image caption,
A woman looks as smoke rises from a wildfire in San Martin de Valdeiglesias, in the Madrid region, on Sunday
Elderly people who were evacuated from a town in the Madrid region will be allowed to return to their homes on Monday, a government delegate for the region has said.
Francisco Martín Aguirre shared the news for those living in San Martín de Valdeiglesias, located west of Madrid, in an update on Sunday night.
He added that a re-opening time for a campsite in El Escorial will be shared, and that access will be allowed during a specific time slot to feed livestock in areas with restrictions.
Gironde region bans Scout camps and summer camp stayspublished at 07:46 BST
The region of Gironde, surrounding the city of Bordeaux, has banned Scout camps and "vacation stays organised for persons with disabilities".
It also says summer camps for children, as well as overnight stays at leisure centres, are prohibited.
The announcement follows an earlier plea from Sophie Brocas, the prefect of the Gironde department, for tourists to consider "against going to the Gironde".
"I urge tourists not to come," she told journalists, after around 220,000 people evacuated the region.
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
The prefect of Gironde Sophie Brocas previously advised holidaymakers to avoid the area

Thousands sleeping in sports halls and exhibition centrespublished at 07:24 BST
An estimated 220,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in the Gironde region in south-west France.
Another 105,000 have left their homes in Spain, as our previous post details. Many have spent the weekend in makeshift shelters in sports halls and exhbition centres:
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
The Villamanta sports centre has hosted evacuees near the Spanish capital of Madrid
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
In France, the Bordeaux exhibition centre has become a hub for evacuated residents seeking supplies and shelter
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
The blaze near Bordeaux remained stable overnight, but temperatures are expected to rise this week
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
The eastern coastal city of Valencia has seen thousands of residents take shelter in sports centres like this one
Spanish PM to visit Valencia as 'very intense' fire expected to worsenpublished at 07:20 BST
In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will visit fire-hit areas in Valencia today.
Around 15,000 people have so far been forced to evacuate the eastern coastal city, and over 90,000 have fled from the regions around Madrid and Ávila.
Pilar Bernabe, the central government's delegate to Valencia, said the fire had been "very intense" and weather conditions were expected to worsen.
In the Madrid, Avila and Toledo regions, it's estimated around 77,000 hectares have been affected by the fires, minister for ecological transition Sara Aagesen said on Sunday.

Fire is 'moving erratically' - but no plans yet to evacuate Bordeaux itselfpublished at 07:01 BST
Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from Bordeaux's surrounding region of Gironde in France.
The main fire has caused an unprecedented "pyrocumulonimbus" - a giant fire thunderstorm fuelled by its own winds and lightning, the National Firefighters Federation of France (FNSPF) said.
Despite this, the Gironde prefecture said on Monday that the situation had remained "broadly stable" overnight.
France's Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said on Sunday the situation remained "very unfavourable" and the fire was "moving erratically" towards the city.
Bordeaux mayor Thomas Cazenave also said on Sunday there were no plans to evacuate the city's population of about 850,000.
Image caption,
Map showing active fire data in France as of 26 July
Are you affected by the fires? Have your holiday plans changed?published at 06:55 BST
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