Wildfires across France and Spain forced the evacuation of more than 250,000 people over the weekend. Driven by consecutive heat waves and dry spells stretching back to May, the blazes overwhelmed local emergency services. At least one person died in the Spanish town of Manises, CBS News reported.
In response to the emergency, the French military mobilized 1,500 soldiers to the Gironde region. They deployed an Airbus A400M transport aircraft equipped for aerial firefighting, according to a live tracker published by The Guardian. Following a formal request for assistance, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen issued a statement of solidarity and activated the rescEU fleet.
The destruction is breaking modern records. Confirming the acreage, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez stated the fires consumed 242,000 acres nationwide. This total represents a historic high that triggered the largest peacetime evacuation in the country’s history. Across the continent, satellite data from the European Forest Fire Information System shows the land area burned this year ranks as the second largest on record.
Neighboring nations are rushing hardware to the frontlines as the emergency expands. To assist the Spanish government, Italy dispatched Canadair firefighting planes. Meanwhile, crews from Croatia, Portugal, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia sent water-bombers and Black Hawk helicopters to support French operations.
Caught completely off guard, regional authorities struggled with the intensity of the infernos. The Gironde blaze grew so powerful it began generating its own wind systems, according to details gathered by AP News.