Spain declares emergency as wildfires force thousands of evacuations

NAVALUENGA, Spain/LEGE-CAP-FERRET, France, July 24 - Spain declared a national emergency over wildfires for the first time on Friday and France asked for help from the European Union to tackle a blaze on the Atlantic coast as searing heat fuelled fires across Europe and forced tens of thousands of evacuations.

French authorities ordered the total evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula, a tourism hotspot, due to a large wildfire. Some 40,000 people were evacuated from the area, many brought to safety by boat, officials said.

In Spain, more than 10,000 people were evacuated from towns in the mountains west of the capital, Madrid, as three fires in the region and neighbouring Avila province prompted the government to declare a national emergency, which allows it to take charge of coordinating the response.

It was the first time such a measure has been taken due to a wildfire. The last time Spain declared the same level of emergency alert was during a massive nationwide power blackout last year.

'NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT'

In Navaluenga in Avila province, local residents wearing masks because of the smoke stood watching firefighting helicopters scoop up water from the town's river late on Thursday.

"I've lived here for 36 years and I've never seen anything like it. Nor did I expect it. I thought they were going to get it under control last night, but it was already late, and it was all out of control," local resident Javier Martin told Reuters.

More than 270 emergency personnel and 40 ground units have been deployed in the affected areas, alongside several Military Emergency Unit (UME) contingents, Spanish officials said.

More than 350 fires have burned in Spain so far this year, according to the EU's European Forest Fire Information Service. In 2025, a record surface area was destroyed.

The French order for a total evacuation of the Cap Ferret area, which is home to many valuable properties and is currently full of tourists enjoying their summer vacations in camp sites and rental homes, underlined the severity of the fire.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he had asked for firefighting support from the EU to help tackle the Cap Ferret blaze, which has already devastated 8,700 hectares (21,500 acres).

"France has requested the activation of the European Union's civil protection mechanism," Macron wrote on X on Friday, adding that several specialist aircraft from other European countries should soon be on their way to help. REUTERS