Farmers in Bordeaux have joined efforts to suppress the flames of the ‘apocalyptic’ wildfires spreading across France.
Footage posted on social media has shown a convoy of tractors reinforcing fire crews with huge water tankers as they drive through a town centre in the south of the country.
One farmer has been pictured wearing personal protective equipment as tractor drivers ride into the inferno threatening to wipe out Bordeaux.
One person, who shared the video, said: ‘The farmers of Charente-Maritime have boarded the Royan ferry to join Gironde as reinforcements against the wildfires. Bravo to them!’
Firefighters have become ‘overwhelmed’ and are ‘concerned’ about Bordeaux as they fight back the fires spreading out of control in southwestern France.
Bordeaux is facing the evacuation of more than 270,000 residents amid ‘apocalyptic’ wildfires spreading across the region.
Huge fires are currently raging across France, with some just nine miles from the country’s ninth-largest city.
Thomas Cazenave, the mayor of Bordeaux, has warned the fire ‘is at the city’s gates’ and said the authorities are ‘very vigilant’ and ‘ready for anything’.
A farmer in Bordeaux is pictured kitting up into his firefighter gear and joining efforts to suppress the wildfire flames
Footage posted on social media has shown a convoy of tractors reinforcing fire crews
The tractors were carrying huge water tankers to reinforce fire crews on the frontline of the blaze
Smoke from nearby wilfires has covered the skyline of the city of Bordeaux
The closed A63 highway near Cestas, southern of Bordeaux, on Sunday as a wildfire ravages the forest north of the Arcachon Basin (Gironde)
People gather at an exhibition centre being used for people displaced by the wildfires, in Bordeaux
Thousands of people evacuated from their homes rest at the Bordeaux Exhibition Centre, which has been converted into a temporary emergency shelter
Bordeaux is facing the evacuation of more than 270,000 residents amid ‘apocalyptic’ wildfires
More than 2,500 firefighters are battling a 20km-wide front of flames that is spreading towards Bordeaux in southwestern France
Bordeaux Council is considering a total evacuation of the city where more than 270,000 people live. So far, over 300,000 residents have been evacuated between France and Spain
He told reporters at a shelter for people displaced by the wildfires that the blaze is further south.
‘It is still on the edge of the metropolitan area, but it is not advancing on the western side of the metropolis,’ he said.
Weather forecasters warn another heatwave could hit France from Tuesday, with temperatures reaching 40C in some areas.
At least 240 homes have been destroyed in Gironde region, many of them in village Le Porge.
But Bordeaux mayor Thomas Cazenave said there were no plans to evacuate the city’s urban area, home to 850,000 people and sheltering thousands displaced by the fires. Local officials remained ‘vigilant’, he added.
France’s defence ministry said it has taken special steps to protect industrial sites around Bordeaux, a key centre of the country’s aerospace industry.
The main freeway south of Bordeaux and rail services have been cut.
Some 2,500 firefighters, 1,500 military personnel and around 1,200 police have been deployed to the Gironde region.
More than 300,000 residents have been evacuated across France and Spain as wildfires tear through the countries.
The forest infernos, raging for days in France’s southwest and central Spain near Madrid, rank among the worst either nation has seen in peacetime.
Other EU countries have sent aircraft, crews and vehicles to help both countries.
France’s major fire has caused an unprecedented ‘pyrocumulonimbus’ – a gigantic fire cloud that creates its own winds and packs lightning that causes more blazes, said the National Firefighters Federation of France (FNSPF).
‘It’s a David-versus-Goliath scenario… at some point, we’ll find a weak spot and strike there,’ said FNSPF spokesman Eric Brocardi.
French President Emmanuel Macron has called a Monday morning crisis cabinet meeting to discuss the emergency, his office said.
Sebastien Berge, head of the Gironde firefighters union, said: ‘The firefighters are overwhelmed. When there’s a fire of this magnitude, it creates its own weather pattern… it’s difficult to monitor.
‘Especially when there’s a fire front that stretches for more than 20km.
‘When you see how far it’s spreading, I think we can now be concerned about the city of Bordeaux.’
While Mr Cazenave said there were no current plans to evacuate the UNESCO-listed city, the local council is said to be considering a ‘total evacuation of the city if needed’.
Around 270,000 people live in the city of Bordeaux, with more than 830,000 in the Bordeaux Métropole urban area, which includes 28 connected local towns.
As the flames edge closer to Bordeaux, the wildfire is also threatening the world-famous vineyards that define the region’s identity.
At Château Haut-Bacalan, the western-most vineyard in Bordeaux, owner Charles-Henri Gonet said the blaze is now just 10km (six miles) from his estate, which lies surrounded by dense pine forests in the direct path of the inferno.
After friends in nearby Saint-Jean-d’Illac were forced to flee their homes, Mr Gonet, 63, is waiting for the emergency SMS alert telling him to evacuate.
His 18th-century château, where he has lived since 1998 with his co-owner wife, Corinne, sits on an eight-hectare estate producing around 20,000 bottles of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc each year, with wines exported around the world.
While he believes the vines themselves are unlikely to burn, he fears the thick smoke could irreparably damage this year’s harvest just weeks before the grapes are due to be picked.
He said: ‘We have to hope for some rain between now and harvest to wash the smoke from the grapes, otherwise there’s a danger that some of them will be ruined.
‘In Bordeaux, traditional winemaking relies on natural rainfall so that roots grow deep into the soil to absorb unique minerals. By law we cannot water them ourselves.’
Firefighters launched an aerial and ground response to contain a wildfire that broke out in scrubland near Torretta, outside Palermo on the island of Sicily, Italy, on Sunday. The island has also been hit by wildfires
Fire engines and two firefighting aircraft were deployed as the blaze threatened nearby residential areas
Here a blaze can be seen ripping through a green area near a building in Palermo on Sunday
Charles-Henri Gonet, 63, runs the Château Haut-Bacalan vineyard with his wife, Corinne, which is just 10km (six miles) from the wildfire
Mr Gonet is yet to be evacuated but is waiting for the SMS alert to vacate, having friends nearby already forced to flee their homes
His estate produces 20,000 bottles of wine annually. He exports high quality Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon blanc wines around the world
Smoke taint occurs when grapevines absorb compounds from wildfire smoke which later create burnt, smoky and ashy flavours during fermentation.
Mr Gonet said the smoke arrived suddenly on Friday evening.
‘One minute it was daylight and the next we were shrouded in darkness. I could only see about 200m [65ft] in front of me and motorists had to put on their headlights. We could really smell the smoke and there was ash falling too.’
Smoke from the inferno has already been billowing into the sky above the city and sinking into its streets, which has caused concern among residents who may be hit with respiratory problems.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said on Sunday that the wildfire situation in southwestern France was ‘very unfavourable’.
‘Another difficult night on the wildfire front,’ Mr Nuñez posted on X. ‘The situation remains very unfavourable.’
A total of 2,500 firefighters, including a Swiss firefighting team, 1,500 military personnel and around 1,200 police have been deployed to battle the blazes in the southwestern region of Gironde, he said.
Bordeaux Council is currently planning for different scenarios that could unfold as the fire tears through the country towards the city, including its total evacuation.
Mr Gonet said that he and his wife have already packed their bags in case they receive an evacuation order overnight.
He said: ‘We are the most westerly of all the Bordeaux vineyards and at the moment the closest to the fire, which is about 10km or 12km away.
‘It was heading right for us, but the wind direction is changing all the time and fortunately the flames have started to head south and west of us.
‘The areas around us have already evacuated. We have places we can go. It’s just a case of waiting for the phone alert.’
He also warned of another potential danger if the fire continues to spread.
‘There is a factory producing gunpowder close to Bordeaux airport. If that catches fire… everyone is in trouble.’
Firefighters are continuing to battle the advancing blaze from the ground and air, with water-bombing aircraft, including a converted A400M military transport plane, dropping water and flame retardant over the forests as crews attempt to slow its advance toward the city.
The first death of the wildfires was recorded yesterday in Spain, where a man – believed to be in his 70s – was found in a car in a ravine in the Spanish town of Manises near Valencia following a forest fire, according to the local fire brigade.
In France, a further 55,000 people were ordered to evacuate late last night, taking the total to 250,000 forced to flee their homes in the Gironde region.
Some 500 French military personnel were deployed to aid firefighters on Friday, and a further 1,500 were sent yesterday evening following a ‘crisis meeting’ held in Paris.
Mr Nuñez said a hulking A400M military transport aircraft will join 18 other water- and retardant-dropping planes and helicopters waging an expected ‘long and very difficult’ battle against the blaze in the Gironde region.
The government has said that the situation is totally unprecedented.
The remnants of a burned-out home and cars following a devastating wildfire in Pelayos de la Presa, 65km west of Madrid
Only the walls remain of this house following a wildfire in Le Porge, in the Gironde region of France
Burning forest near the town of Lege-Cap-Ferret, southwestern France yesterday
Firefighters in Lege-Cap-Ferret, where 2,000 military personnel have been deployed to aid emergency services in an unprecedented situation in France
Evacuees from Chapinera and Pelayos de la Presa, who had to hastily leave their homes due to the uncontrolled advance of the wildfires in Madrid’s Sierra Oeste region
The final leg of the Tour de France, taking place today, has been shortened from 113km (83 miles) to 89km (55 miles) so that security forces can be redeployed to areas affected by the infernos, organisers and police have said.
Spanish interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told local press yesterday: ‘It has not been a positive day. The weather conditions have been absolutely difficult.
‘If it hasn’t gotten worse, it’s thanks to the work of all the emergency services.’
Wind gusts yesterday blew the flames south, and Mr Grande-Marlaska warned yesterday that ‘The night is not going to be very positive or very friendly to us.’
Nearly 60,000 people have been evacuated from the Madrid and Ávila regions, while more than 28,000 remain confined to their homes, according to Spain’s interior ministry.
Eight municipalities near Toledo were ordered to evacuate late last night, but it is not clear how many that involved.
Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez said that 130,000 hectares have been reduced to ash in the fires – ahead of the annual average of 100,000 hectares.
Officials voiced optimism they were starting to get a grip on some fires – though a new blaze near the eastern coastal city of Valencia forced 15,000 people to flee over the weekend.
‘Difficult hours lie ahead,’ Mr Sanchez said as he visited the fire zone in Avila province west of Madrid Sunday.
He is due to visit affected areas in Valencia on Monday.
A cabinet member said the fire around Avila was the largest in Spain’s history, while civil protection chief Virginia Barcones said the country was battling a ‘monster’.
‘We are dealing with a perimeter of 280 kilometres encompassing 77,000 hectares,’ Barcones told state broadcaster TVE of the wildfire.
King Felipe VI, visiting an emergency shelter on Madrid’s western outskirts, said the wildfires had caused ‘incalculable’ damage to Spain’s natural heritage.
Around 75,000 residents have been evacuated from the Madrid region, Avila, Toledo and from the eastern region of Castellon in Valencia.
Officials said winds were pushing wildfires near Madrid to the south, away from the capital for now, but forcing more evacuations of villages in their path.
One person was killed on Saturday in a separate, smaller fire near Valencia, the only civilian death so far reported in the wildfires. In France, two firefighters were killed near Bordeaux on Tuesday.
Pope Leo IV, in his prayers on Sunday, expressed solidarity with all those affected by the ‘devastating’ Spanish and French fires and called on people to pray for them and first responders.
Pilar, a 69-year-old New Zealand tourist who declined to give her last name, said: ‘When we flew into Madrid we could see the fire very close to the airport.’
Letisha Lucas, a 33-year-old tourist from Canada said the smoke smell was obvious on arrival in Madrid, irritating her throat.
Italy, too, was facing its own fires.
More than 400 tourists and beachgoers were evacuated by sea near the town of Peschici in the southern Puglia region, with 300 more expected to be rescued, said the coastguard.
Scientists say climate change is making such extreme weather events more frequent and intense.
Coming at the height of the summer holiday season, the fires were fuelled by woodland parched to tinder by successive heatwaves and lack of rain since May.
Meanwhile, 98,000 hectares have been burned in France, Mr Nuñez said.
The wildfires ravaging areas around Spain’s capital Madrid have included the largest forest fire in the country’s recent history, a government official said on Sunday.
Sara Aagesen, minister for ecological transition, told journalists the part of the wildfires affecting 50,000 hectares of the Avila area west of Madrid was ‘the largest forest fire in our country’s recent history’.
She did not define the extent of damage or burned land in the total of 77,000 hectares she said had been ‘affected’ in the Madrid, Avila and Toledo regions hit by the wildfires.
Wildfires have also taken hold in Italy where more than 350 fires – including ten major infernos – ignited on the island of Sicily.
Hundreds of people in Italy were evacuated by sea on Sunday as a wildfire swept through parts of the southern Adriatic coast, with many more expected to be rescued, the coastguard said.
‘More than 400 tourists and beachgoers have been evacuated by sea, the only viable evacuation route,’ the coastguard said on its WhatsApp channel, adding that operations were ongoing.
Evacuees were being rescued from the area around the town of Peschici in the southern Puglia region.
A coastguard spokesman said that around 300 more people were expected to be evacuated.
Six coastguard vessels, three boats from Italy’s financial police and around 10 private vessels were involved in the operation, the coastguard said.
Images showed firefighters and a Canadair waterbomber battling the blaze, which was not immediately threatening homes in the town.
A huge plume of smoke could be seen from dozens of kilometres away.
‘The situation is currently under control,’ Peschici mayor Luigi d’Arenzo said.
Fires have also taken hold in the UK as the Cairngorms National Park has been burning for the last 11 days.
Emergency services declared it a major incident on Friday.
