More than 250,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in France and Spain as devastating wildfires continue to spread across both countries, according to CBS News.
In France, at least 197,000 residents have been forced to evacuate. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez described the operation as "probably the biggest peacetime evacuation of the population" in the country's history. The fires have scorched nearly 98,000 hectares of land, marking what officials called a historic record.
In Spain, around 70,000 people have been evacuated, while one person was killed in the city of Manises. During a visit to fire-hit areas near Madrid, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said that "saving lives" remains the government's top priority. He noted that approximately 130,000 hectares of forest have burned in Spain since the beginning of the year, exceeding the country's average annual total over the past decade.
French President Emmanuel Macron has deployed around 1,000 troops to assist firefighters in the Bordeaux region. Firefighting efforts also include an A400M military transport aircraft capable of dropping up to 20 tonnes of fire retardant, additional aircraft and reinforced firefighting units.
France and Spain have both requested assistance from other European countries. Italy, Greece, the Netherlands and Portugal have sent firefighting aircraft to Spain, while Croatia and Portugal have dispatched aircraft to France, alongside helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
According to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), the area burned across the European Union since the beginning of the year is the second largest on record.
By Jeyhun Aghazada
