Wildfires force hundreds of thousands to evacuate in France and Spain, tourists recount harrowing escapes

About 375,000 residents and visitors have been ordered to leave their homes in France and Spain as wildfires continue to spread across the southern part of the continent. French officials are battling a large fire near Bordeaux, while Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, warned that the Iberian Peninsula is feeling the impact of the climate emergency. Meteorologists forecast another heatwave in France, with temperatures expected to reach 40 °C (104 °F) in some areas.

Tourists on the French Atlantic coast reported abrupt changes in the sky and heavy ash fallout. One 77-year-old visitor said a “great billowing pall of black smoke” appeared while he was at a beach in Arcachon, prompting him and his wife to hitchhike 42 miles back to Bordeaux after train services were cancelled. They later learned that the drivers who gave them lifts lived in zones where houses had burned and thousands were being evacuated.

Another holidaymaker described an “apocalyptic” scene on the dunes near Lacanau Océan, noting that ash fell from the clouds and black soot covered the beach. After returning to Bordeaux, the couple received an emergency alert that the airport area was under an evacuation order and spent several hours in a hotel reception before being taken to the exhibition centre with other evacuees.

A family from Cardiff left their campsite after ash began falling from the sky, describing how the smoke grew thick enough to obscure the sun. They said the region’s normally busy tourist season was unusually quiet, and they observed police, fire trucks, ambulances and a large water-dropping aircraft as the fire response intensified. The father said the experience reinforced his belief that climate change is contributing to more frequent and severe wildfires in the area.