Europe wildfires latest: Bordeaux Airport evacuates hotel zone with fires ‘moving erratically’ towards city – UK Times

Bordeaux Airport’s hotel zone has been evacuated until further notice as raging wildfires threaten the city, although the airport itself remains operational.

In a statement overnight, the airport said that the decision to close all hotels in its immediate vicinity was made in accordance with the Gironde prefecture.

While flights are still operational, the airport said no accommodation can be provided at the airport itself, which closes overnight. It advised travellers to look outside the evacuated areas or at the Parc des Expositions.

Over 300,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes as wildfires continue to rage across Spain and France.

At least one man has been killed in Spain and dozens others have been injured including at least 68 firefighters in France.

Government officials from both countries have commented on the historic nature of the blaze, with Madrid’s regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso describing it as “the worst fire in the history of the region”.

Emergency services are braced for further wildfires as the UK’s fourth heatwave looms.

A National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) spokesperson said: “With the Met Office warning that a fourth heatwave could develop this week, bringing another period of very hot weather to parts of the UK, fire and rescue services remain on alert and are continuing to prepare for renewed wildfire risk.”

Battling nearly 20 wildfires at once demonstrates “the scale of the challenge posed by the prolonged hot, dry conditions”, they added.

“Most wildfires are preventable and we are asking everyone to play their part in helping to protect our communities, wildlife and natural spaces, while easing the pressure on firefighters who have already faced an exceptionally challenging summer.”

Temperatures cooled, winds picked up and a smattering of rain fell for many during the weekend.

But parts of southern England will yet again meet their heatwave criteria on Wednesday, which could reach highs of 32C or 33C, and more will on Thursday

French president Emmanuel Macron will a hold a crisis cabinet meeting today as wildfires threaten the south-western city of Bordeaux.

He said on Saturday that France would “rebuild” and his government would “be there for as long as is needed”.

Tens of thousands of people have already been evacuated from Bordeaux’s surrounding region, with France’s interior minister Laurent Nuñez saying the situation remained “very unfavourable” and the fire was “moving erratically” towards the city.

Wildfires advanced towards the outskirts of the historic French city of Bordeaux, at the heart of the country’s winelands, yesterday as France and Spain battled blazes that have already forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people.

About 220,000 people have been evacuated in France, while in Spain more than 75,000 people have been evacuated and a further 30,000 ordered to shelter in place, authorities said.

In France, fires have ravaged the Cap Ferret peninsula on the Atlantic coast, a popular tourist destination, and spread through areas surrounding Bordeaux, where firefighters were trying to prevent the flames from reaching the regional capital.

Bordeaux Mayor Thomas Cazenave said the fire was about 15 km (9 miles) away from the entry points to the main city.

“We have a fire that is not under control and which is moving in the direction of the city area,” Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told France 2 ⁠TV yesterday. “The overall situation is very unfavourable, we are in a situation that is unprecedented.”

“The smell is horrible, you can’t breathe,” says Ira Szmuk, a resident living in the centre of the city of Bordeaux as raging wildfires creep closer by the hour.

“In the afternoon and evening, the winds bring all the smoke into town so we can’t go out. We do everything we need to do in the morning and then we lock ourselves in the house.”

Arsonists tied flammable rags to cats’ tails and set them alight to ignite wildfires in Italy.

Deadly wildfires have continued to sweep across Europe, with extreme weather warnings and record temperatures devastating the continent.

However, not all of the blazes are believed to have been natural, with authorities investigating the “inhumane” method used at Pollino national park in Calabria, southern Italy.

Stray cats, who were released in the field to spread the blaze, were found amongst the smouldering remains.

“This is the work of a mind that is not merely malicious, but truly criminal,” said Domenico Costarella, of Calabria’s civil protection agency.

The Italian Association for the Defence of Animals and the Environment has called for a criminal investigation and offered a €1,000 reward for information that could help identify those who set the cats alight.

A raging wildfire in southwest France forced the evacuation of 55,000 people overnight Sunday, taking the total forced out of their homes to 220,000 as the flames have crept ever closer to the wine region city of Bordeaux.

Authorities in the Gironde region, where Bordeaux is located, issued overnight evacuation orders for five more localities including some on the city’s approaches.