Evacuations ordered as wildfire advances toward Bordeaux

Key points

• Authorities evacuated parts of three western Bordeaux suburbs, including the airport, as a wildfire moved toward the city, the Gironde prefecture said.
• Evacuations were also under way in towns and villages west of Bordeaux, with residents receiving mobile alerts instructing them to leave.
• France mobilised hundreds of soldiers, and authorities sent 1.5 million smoke-filtering masks to the Gironde region.
• Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said an adapted A400M aircraft would drop flame retardant on the blaze.
• French authorities said 141,000 people had fled homes in Gironde and Landes; dozens of firefighters were injured, with no deaths reported.
• Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said the Gironde fire was generating its own winds and described the situation as unprecedented.
• In Spain, 60,000 people were evacuated, while the Madrid regional government reported weaker fires after overnight winds and temperatures fell.
• Spain expected four additional water-dropping aircraft from Italy and Greece as part of a European response, authorities said.