France and Spain race to control wildfires as Bordeaux suburbs evacuated – live

• Firefighters across France and Spain continue to battle wildfires that have displaced almost 270,000 people.

• A ‌man ​has died in ​a ‌wildfire near the Spanish city of Valencia, the ​country's â interior â ministry said. The victim was ‌found in a car â in ​a ravine in the town of Manises, west of the city.

• In France, 197,000 people have been evacuated near Bordeaux, including in the suburbs of the city. The French armed forces significantly expanded its military response to the major wildfires in the south-west, deploying 1,500 soldiers to support firefighters, assist with evacuations and provide medical care, transport, accommodation, and logistical support. The armed forces are also supplying specialist equipment, including bulldozers, helicopters, drones, and A400M military aircraft equipped for aerial firefighting, to help contain the fires and support the wider emergency response.

• The French prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, convened new government crisis meeting later on the wildfires in south-west France, his office announced.

• The Spanish interior ministry said a total of 70,000 people have been evacuated from villages west of Madrid. Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said the wildfire situation near Madrid remained “complex†as he visited affected areas. “We don't know how the wind will develop, even though temperatures have dropped,†he said.

• The first minister of Scotland has asked for military aid from the UK government as more than 500 firefighters continue to tackle a firewhich has raged in the Cairngorms national park for the past 11 days and forced the evacuation of homes in the remote region.

More than 400 emergency personnel are working to contain the wildfire to the west of the Spanish capital, Madrid's emergency agency ASEM112 said, in addition to 50 ground and 12 aerial units such as fire engines and helicopters.

Rodika, 60, from the small town of Fresnedillas de La Oliva near Madrid, told Reuters she was evacuated around 30 minutes away.

“I saw clouds of smoke rising into the sky. That's when I realized something was happening.

“I think we all panicked. Then we received the message telling us to get ready, take whatever valuables we could, whatever was most important. I took my cat, and we left.â€

The evacuation was similar for Julio, 41, in the nearby town of Navalgamella.

“Neighbours were shouting, the police were shouting, everything was happening at once. We packed the essentials: two or three changes of clothes, my medication in my case, some cash, and we left,†he said.

A ‌man ​has died in ​a ‌wildfire near the Spanish city of Valencia, the ​country's â interior â ministry said.

The victim was ‌found in a car â in ​a ravine in the town of Manises, west of the city.

Sunday's stage of the Tour de France has been shortened to 89km from the original 133km to allow security personnel to be redeployed to tackle wildfires near Bordeaux, organisers and police said.

Spain's interior ministry said residents in the town of San Martin de Valdeiglesias and the village of Valdemaqueda, near Madrid, should stay indoors.

More than 28,000 people are already under lockdown in the autonomous region of Madrid and the Avila municipality, the ministry added.

Unrestrained wildfires in Spain and France have forced more than 250,000 people to flee, authorities from both countries have said, as they struggle to contain the blazes.

About 70,000 people were evacuated from central Spain, while 197,000 people fled in France, including tens of thousands from the wine region city of Bordeaux.

Spain declared a national emergency over the fires, the first time the country has ever done so over a wildfire.

The French armed forces have significantly expanded its military response to the major wildfires in the south-west, deploying 1,500 soldiers to support firefighters, assist with evacuations and provide medical care, transport, accommodation, and logistical support.

The armed forces are also supplying specialist equipment, including bulldozers, helicopters, drones, and A400M military aircraft equipped for aerial firefighting, to help contain the fires and support the wider emergency response.

In a post on X, Catherine Vautrin, the minister of the armed forces who attended an emergency meeting at the army headquarters, said: “Our forces are engaged on the ground in support of the internal security forces and civil security forces as part of the state's response to a sudden, major, and unprecedented crisis, to protect people, property, and businesses.â€

Here's a video showing the extent of the devastation wrought on Spain and France as firefighters continue to battle the wildfires:

The Spanish civil guard has warned misinformation and images not related to the wildfires in the Madrid and Ãvila regions were circulating online, as it advised people to follow official channels and media outlets for information.

It said the following areas were being evacuated:

Madrid: Las Rozas de Puerto Real, Cadalso de los Vidrios, Cenicientos and the Entrepinos estate.

Ãvila: La Adrada, Piedralaves, Sotillo de la Adrada, Casillas and Santa María del Tiétar, la Iglesuela and Arenas de San Pedro.

The French newspaper Le Monde has noted that more than 32,000 hectares (79,000 acres) of land have burned in Gironde, an area equivalent to three times the size of Paris.

Some pictures on the newswires from Lacanau, in the Gironde region of south-west France, where firefighters and volunteers are trying to contain the wildfire:

Back in Scotland, a community leader in the Highlands village of Nethy Bridge has described the scenes of a wildfire in Cairngorms national park which has been burning for 11 days.

“Apocalyptic is the word for the pall of smoke that was on the go yesterday,†Sandy McCook told PA.

McCook said there was a major increase in firefighting units in and around the village, plus multiple wildfire response units.

“I think a lot of people are running on adrenaline,†he said.

“A lot of people are upset, angry and frustrated at the ongoing situation because the Scottish government said a week ago [on Wednesday] that they had enough resources to deal with it, and they said on Thursday that the fire was contained.

“My argument with that is, if you said the fire was contained and you had enough resources last Wednesday and Thursday, why are we still fighting it 10 days later and it's still running out of control? It is still not controlled in any way shape or form.â€

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has issued a message of solidarity with France and Spain, saying more help from the EU is on the way to aid firefighting missions.

In a post on X, she said:

Europe stands alongside France and Spain in the face of the devastating wildfires ravaging them.

5 planes and 2 helicopters from the rescEU fleet are now deployed in France.

And 4 planes are arriving in Spain today.

Copernicus is also providing emergency mapping to support the response in both countries.

My thoughts are with the firefighters who bravely battle the flames and with all those evacuated.â€