Wildfire forces evacuations of suburbs in French city of Bordeaux

Authorities in France have evacuated some suburbs of Bordeaux as a massive wildfire shifted toward the city.

The prefect of the Gironde region ordered the evacuation in the early hours of Saturday, covering parts of three of the city’s western suburbs, including its airport.

“As the fire continues to spread, and despite the significant resources deployed by firefighters, the situation requires the evacuation of residents from the affected areas to ensure their safety,” a statement from the prefecture said.

Massive forest fires have forced the evacuation of 200,000 people in south-western France and central Spain, with residents fleeing towns near Madrid and Bordeaux on Friday as flames raged out of control.

Firefighters and authorities in both European countries were caught off guard by the virulence of the fires, which were fuelled by high temperatures and the long-term effects of climate change.

Firefighters in Spain said the fires were so fast and violent they could not be tackled head on. In France, some people even fled by boat when flames swept through tourist towns on the Atlantic coast.

Some 141,000 fled homes in the Gironde and Landes departments in France, the French interior ministry said.

In central Spain, 60,000 were forced from their homes, according to the Spanish interior ministry.