French President Emmanuel Macron called a tough meeting on Monday focused on it beast, wildfires out of control which has forced more than 250,000 people in France to flee their homes, amid the first glimmer of hope that the spread of the massive fire may have slowed.
In the Gironde region of southwestern France, where flames have burned an area four times the size of Paris, the region said the overnight situation remained “globally stable” – a change from days past when a huge fire that has been burning since last week has moved closer to the wine region city of Bordeaux.
In the nearby southwestern region of Landes, where hundreds of firefighters have been advancing against another powerful but small fire, the region said some rain had fallen overnight and described conditions as “favorable” for firefighting but warned that they could change.
No new releases have been announced. But with France about to enter its peak tourist season in August, the Gironde authorities took extra measures to keep tourists away, closing holiday camps for children and people with disabilities.
On the ground and in the air, with water and helicopters, a massive firefighting effort was held in a race against time, fighting to make progress before the weather’s rise in temperatures from Tuesday could make fighting the flames even more difficult.
Florion Goga / REUTERS
The fire has created a “pyrocumulonimbus” – a large cloud of fire that can create its own wind and pack lightning and sometimes storms that can cause more flames, according to the federation of firefighters in France, which said the phenomenon has never been seen in the country, reported the French news agency AFP.
“It’s a David-versus-Goliath situation,” coalition spokesman Eric Brocardi said, according to AFP. “At some point, we’re going to find a weak spot and hit there.”
A government crisis meeting was scheduled for Monday morning, with Macron presiding. In a post on X over the weekend, he promised long-term support for communities hit by the fire, saying: “We will rebuild, we will repair and we will be there as long as necessary.”
In Spain, wildfires have burned out of control in Madrid and the Valencia region. Authorities evacuated 76,000 people and locked another 30,000 in their homes.
Pedro Nunes / REUTERS 
In both Spain and France, the level of unusual fires – fueled by heat waves that hit too hard earlier this year, making forests and scrubland tinder-dry – call for tougher measures against climate change.
“What we are dealing with is not a series of isolated incidents. It is the result of a climate emergency that makes wildfires more violent, heat waves more frequent,” said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.
The evacuees are worried about what they will find if they are allowed to return to the affected areas.
“It seemed like an apocalypse. You couldn’t see anything. Everything was covered in ash,” said Rocío Domínguez, who was out with his dog, Simba, in Chapinería, west of Madrid.
“We don’t know when we arrive in the city, we will burn part of the house or we will repair it completely or we will not have it,” he said. “All the clothes, all the memories, everything.”
