French authorities have ordered the evacuation of almost 60,000 people near Bordeaux, taking the total number of people told to flee wildfires in France and Spain to more than 220,000.
Around 200,000 people have been evacuated in south-west France in the Gironde and Landes regions. French President Emmanuel Macron has mobilised the military to assist the response.
Meanwhile, a fire near Madrid is “beyond the capacity” of firefighters to contain, Spanish officials have warned, after three fires west of the capital merged into a single blaze.
Spain’s government had declared a national emergency, with 25,000 people told to evacuate and almost 40,000 told to stay indoors.
Madrid’s regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso described it as the “worst fire in the history of the region”, with the area facing a “perfect storm” of high temperatures, relentless wind and merging fire fronts.
In Spain, local emergency services said wildfires were moving towards the municipalities of Robledo de Chavela and Fresnedillas de la Olivia, around 50km (31 miles) from the capital.
“The wildfire is at its peak and is currently beyond the capacity of firefighters to contain,” Carlos Novillo, the Madrid regional government’s emergency management chief, told reporters.
“It’s not possible to attack the fire in that area, so defensive measures are being taken,” he added.
The Military Emergency Unit (UME) has been deployed to try to halt the advance of the flames, with its main focus protecting areas near the town of El Escorial.
Authorities are also monitoring a separate wildfire in nearby Ávila province, where officials fear the huge Burgohondo blaze could merge with the Madrid fire.
Spain’s Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said authorities were doing “everything we can” to prevent the two merging.
Francisco Martín, the government delegate in Madrid, warned those numbers could rise as “embers are flying for miles and the fire is jumping great distances”.
The mayor of El Tiemblo, one of the affected areas in Ávila, said flames spread from Navaluenga to the Iruelas Valley – a distance of about 20km, 12 miles – in less than half an hour. “It was horrific,” Arturo Varas González told laSexta.
At least 6,000 hectares of land had burned in the Madrid region, while the Ávila blaze has consumed almost 9,000 hectares, according to officials.
Eight municipalities have been evacuated, including Chapinería, Navas del Rey, Colmenar del Arroyo, Fresnedillas de la Oliva, Robledo de Chavela, Aldea del Fresno, Navalagamella and Zarzalejo.
Several other towns, including San Martín de Valdeiglesias, Pelayos de la Presa and Villa del Prado, remain under lockdown.
Ecologio Cabrera, 86, was forced to flee his village west of Madrid. “If you don’t run from it and you try to face it, it devours you,” he told AFP news agency from a sports hall in the village of Vilamanta where hundreds of evacuees have sought refuge.
His family tried to save their home by spraying it with garden hoses until firefighters arrived. “They arrived and told everybody to get out… I have never experienced anything like this.”
Madrid’s regional president Ayuso said the situation was “completely unusual and catastrophic,” with the priority being saving lives.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez will visit the zone’s emergency coordination centre early on Saturday, his administration said.
Earlier on Friday, Sánchez said people were “living through a dramatic situation” and urged citizens to take great care.
According to local media, The Civil Guard had arrested one person and investigating another over the Burgohondo fire, which officials said must had been caused by negligence involving heavy machinery used when a period of restrictions were in place.
BBC/ Taiwo Akinola
