Major wildfire in France 'stabilized' but not contained: Interior minister
Wildfires raging near Spain's capital, Madrid, could force more evacuations.
Firefighters have stabilized a monster wildfire in France that has burned more than 100,000 acres in the southwestern part of the country and prompted tens of thousands of evacuations, authorities said on Monday.
But following an emergency meeting on the wildfire that French President Emmanuel Macron held on Monday morning, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told reporters that the wildfire in the Gironde region near the city of Bordeaux has not been fully contained.
"In fact, it has a life of its own," Nunez said at a news conference. "It benefits both from climatic conditions and from the nature of these forests, given its completely erratic behavior. It is autonomous, self-sustaining, and spreads in all directions."
The Gironde fire ignited on July 22 in Saumos near Bordeaux and has burned 104,000 acres, or four times the size of Paris, and destroyed more than 240 homes, officials said. The fire has prompted more than 220,000 evacuations in France, authorities said.
During a news conference on Monday, Nunez described the conflagration in Gironde as "a phenomenon that is entirely unprecedented" and "extremely difficult to control."
"As I speak, the fire is stabilized, but it has not been fully contained," Nunez said.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation, but Nunez noted that nine out of 10 fires are caused by human activity.
The wildfire has come amid a drought in Southwest France and three heatwaves. A fourth heatwave is expected to descend on the region this week and could send temperatures into the triple digits. Temperatures in the region are expected to climb to 95 degrees on Tuesday and be even warmer on Wednesday, officials said.
"We know temperatures are going to climb again, that we'll enter a phase of intense heat, and so we really have to remain very cautious," Nunez said. "As long as the fire isn't contained, the situation remains unfavorable."
Hot and dry conditions fueling biggest wildfire in recent Spanish history
Wildfires raging near Spain's capital, Madrid, are expected to force more evacuations on Monday.
The fires near Madrid and the Ávila Province have caused nearly 80,000 evacuations in villages around Madrid and the Castellón province, while another 30,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in the Castellón province on the eastern coast of Spain near Valencia.
One person has died from the fires in Spain. Authorities said a 79-year-old man died on Wednesday in the town of Manises, northwest of Valencia, in an area affected by a wildfire.
The fire in Ávila has burned 111,000 acres, making it the largest wildfire in Spanish history, officials said.
The Madrid emergency services warned on Monday that the wildfire in the area is expected to grow in the coming days, fueled by temperatures of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit expected by Tuesday and wind gusts of 18 mph.
The fire was pushing toward Toledo on Sunday afternoon.
Sara Aagesen, Spain's Environment Minister, said in an interview on Sunday with Madrid's Radio 5 that further evacuations are likely depending on how the fire moves.
"We believe there will be further evacuations, and we will soon be able to see where they will take place depending on how the fire evolves," Aagesen said.
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