Satellite imagery released by Spain's State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) shows smoke plumes from wildfires in the Madrid region merging with smoke from fires around Bordeaux in southwestern France.
In a post on X, Aemet shared images showing the edge of the smoke cloud generated by the wildfires near Madrid joining the upper part of the plume produced by the fires in the Bordeaux area.
Wildfires in the regions of Madrid and Ávila have already burned around 250,000 stremmas of land, while fires around Bordeaux have devastated almost 400,000 stremmas, bringing the combined total to nearly 650,000 stremmas.
Spanish and French authorities have ordered the evacuation of approximately 270,000 people, while both Madrid and Paris have requested European assistance in tackling the fires.
Wildfires remain out of control
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has ordered the immediate deployment of a military A400M transport aircraft to assist firefighting efforts in the Gironde region.
The aircraft will be fitted with a system capable of dropping 20 tonnes of fire retardant, the equivalent payload of two Dash firefighting aircraft.
Its introduction into firefighting operations had originally been scheduled for the end of July following technical procedures and testing, but the plan has been accelerated because of the severity of the situation.
In Gironde, famous worldwide for its vineyards and wine production, and in the neighbouring Landes region, wildfires have forced the evacuation of at least 141,000 people since Wednesday evening.
Authorities on Thursday ordered the complete evacuation, by both road and sea, of the tourist peninsula of Cap Ferret near Bordeaux.
According to the Bordeaux metropolitan authority, around 3,500 people evacuated from the Arcachon Valley and communities near Bordeaux are being accommodated at the Bordeaux Exhibition Centre, which has been converted into a reception facility.
"A complex situation"
In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said saving lives remained the overriding priority and described the situation as "complex" following a visit to a reception centre in one of the affected areas of the Madrid region.
"Our priority, our concern, our objective is people's lives, to save lives," Sánchez told reporters.
He added that while temperatures had fallen, uncertainty remained over how wind conditions might evolve.
Spain's Interior Ministry said the fires burning west of Madrid for several days have destroyed around 250,000 stremmas, including 100,000 stremmas within the Madrid region and between 130,000 and 150,000 stremmas in the province of Ávila.
Spanish firefighting services hope to bring the situation under control, after significant progress was made overnight.
Lower temperatures and increased humidity have improved conditions for firefighters, but authorities warned that shifting winds could reignite and spread the flames.
On Thursday, two separate wildfires in the Madrid region merged into a single massive fire front, which threatened to join a third wildfire burning in the neighbouring region of Castile and León.
