Bordeaux is facing the evacuation of more than 270,000 of its residents because of ‘apocalyptic’ wildfires.
Huge fires are currently raging across France, with blazes just nine miles from the country’s ninth-largest city.
Thomas Cazenave, the mayor of Bordeaux, warned the fire ‘is at the city’s gates’ and said they are ‘very vigilant’ and ‘ready for anything’.
He told reporters at a shelter for people displaced by the wildfires that the fire is further south.
‘It is still on the edge of the metropolitan area, but it is not advancing on the western side of the metropolis,’ he said.
More than 300,000 residents have been evacuated across France and Spain as wildfires tear through the countries.
Firefighters have become ‘overwhelmed’ and are ‘concerned about the city of Bordeaux’ as they fight back the flames spreading out of control in southwestern France.
Sebastien Berge, head of the Gironde firefighters union, said: ‘The firefighters are overwhelmed. When there’s a fire of this magnitude, it creates its own weather pattern… it’s difficult to monitor.
More than 2,500 firefighters are battling a 20km-wide front of flames that is spreading towards Bordeaux in southwestern France
Bordeaux Council is considering a total evacuation of the city where more than 270,000 people live. So far, over 300,000 residents have been evacuated between France and Spain
‘Especially when there’s a fire front that stretches for more than 20km.
‘When you see how far it’s spreading, I think we can now be concerned about the city of Bordeaux.’
While Mr Cazenave said there were no current plans to evacuate the UNESCO-listed city, the local council is said to be considering a ‘total evacuation of the city if needed’.
Around 270,000 people live in the city of Bordeaux, with more than 830,000 in the Bordeaux Métropole urban area, which includes 28 connected local towns.
As the flames edge closer to Bordeaux, the wildfire is also threatening the world-famous vineyards that define the region’s identity.
At Château Haut-Bacalan, the western-most vineyard in Bordeaux, owner Charles-Henri Gonet said the blaze is now just 10km (six miles) from his estate, which lies surrounded by dense pine forests in the direct path of the inferno.
After friends in nearby Saint-Jean-d’Illac were forced to flee their homes, Mr Gonet, 63, is waiting for the emergency SMS alert telling him to evacuate.
His 18th-century château, where he has lived since 1998 with his co-owner wife, Corinne, sits on an eight-hectare estate producing around 20,000 bottles of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc each year, with wines exported around the world.
While he believes the vines themselves are unlikely to burn, he fears the thick smoke could irreparably damage this year’s harvest just weeks before the grapes are due to be picked.
He said: ‘We have to hope for some rain between now and harvest to wash the smoke from the grapes, otherwise there’s a danger that some of them will be ruined.
‘In Bordeaux, traditional winemaking relies on natural rainfall so that roots grow deep into the soil to absorb unique minerals. By law we cannot water them ourselves.’
Charles-Henri Gonet, 63, runs the Château Haut-Bacalan vineyard with his wife, Corinne, which is just 10km (six miles) from the wildfire
Mr Gonet is yet to be evacuated but is waiting for the SMS alert to vacate, having friends nearby already forced to flee their homes
His estate produces 20,000 bottles of wine annually. He exports high quality Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon blanc wines around the world
Smoke taint occurs when grapevines absorb compounds from wildfire smoke which later create burnt, smoky and ashy flavours during fermentation.
Mr Gonet said the smoke arrived suddenly on Friday evening.
‘One minute it was daylight and the next we were shrouded in darkness. I could only see about 200 metres in front of me and motorists had to put on their headlights. We could really smell the smoke and there was ash falling too.’
Smoke from the inferno has already been billowing into the sky above the city and sinking into its streets, which has caused concern over residents who may be hit with respiratory problems.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said on Sunday the wildfire situation in southwestern France was ‘very unfavourable’.
‘Another difficult night on the wildfire front,’ Mr Nuñez said on X. ‘The situation remains very unfavourable,’ he said.
A total of 2,500 firefighters, including a Swiss firefighting team, 1,500 military personnel and around 1,200 police have been deployed to battle the blazes in the southwestern region of Gironde, he said.
Bordeaux Council is currently planning for different scenarios that could unfold as the fire tears through the country towards the city, including the total evacuation of the city.
Mr Gonet said he and his wife have already packed bags in case they receive an evacuation order overnight.
He said: ‘We are the most westerly of all the Bordeaux vineyards and at the moment the closest to the fire, which is about 10 or 12 kilometres away.
‘It was heading right for us but the wind direction is changing all the time and fortunately the flames have started to head south and west of us.
‘The areas around us have already evacuated. We have places we can go. It’s just a case of waiting for the phone alert.’
He also warned of another potential danger if the fire continues to spread.
‘There is a factory producing gunpowder close to Bordeaux airport. If that catches fire… everyone is in trouble.’
Firefighters are continuing to battle the advancing blaze from the ground and air, with water-bombing aircraft, including a converted A400M military transport plane, dropping water and flame retardant over the forests as crews attempt to slow its advance toward the city.
The first death of the wildfires was recorded yesterday in Spain, where a man – believed to be in his 70s – was found in a car in a ravine in the Spanish town of Manises near Valencia following a forest fire in the area, according to the local fire brigade.
In France, a further 55,000 people were ordered to evacuate late last night, taking the total to 250,000 forced to flee their homes in the Gironde region.
Some 500 French military personnel were deployed to aid firefighters on Friday, and a further 1,500 were sent yesterday evening following a ‘crisis meeting’ held in Paris.
Mr Nuñez said a hulking A400M military transport aircraft will join 18 other water- and retardant-dropping planes and helicopters waging an expected ‘long and very difficult’ battle against the blaze in the Gironde region.
The government has said that the situation is totally unprecedented.
extensive damage inside a burned-out home following a devastating wildfire in Pelayos de la Presa, 65 kilometers west of Madrid this morning
Burnt buildings around a pool in a destroyed residential area following a wildfire in Le Porge, in the Gironde region, France
Burning forest near the town of Lege-Cap-Ferret, southwestern France yesterday
Firefighters outside Lege-Cap-Ferret. 2,000 military personell have been deployed to aid emergency services in an unprecedented situation in France
Eacuees from Chapinera and Pelayos de la Presa, who had to hastily leave their homes due to the uncontrolled advance of the wildfires in Madrid’s Sierra Oeste region
The final leg of the Tour de France, taking place today, has been shortened from 113km (83 miles) to 89km (55 miles) so that security forces can be redeployed to areas affected by the infernos, organisers and police have said.
Spanish interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told local press yesterday: ‘It has not been a positive day. The weather conditions have been absolutely difficult.
‘If it hasn’t gotten worse, it’s thanks to the work of all the emergency services.’
Fires rage close to the capital, Madrid.
Wind gusts yesterday blew the flames south, and Mr Grande-Marlaska warned yesterday that ‘The night is not going to be very positive or very friendly to us.’
Nearly 60,000 people have been evacuated from the Madrid and Ávila regions, while more than 28,000 remain confined to their homes, according to Spain’s interior ministry.
Eight municipalities near Toledo were ordered to evacuate late last night, but it is not clear how many that involved.
Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez said that 130,000 hectares have been reduced to ash in the fires – ahead of the annual average of 100,000 hectares.
Meanwhile, 98,000 hectares have been burned in France, Mr Nuñez said.
Wildfires have also taken hold in Italy where more than 350 fires – including ten major infernos – ignited on the island of Sicily.
Fires have also taken hold in the UK as the Cairngorms National Park has been burning for the last 11 days. Emergency services declared it a major incident on Friday.
