European wildfires force mass evacuations as Canada watches climate parallels
More than 200,000 people have fled fires in France, Spain and Scotland while Canadian firefighters stand ready to assist under mutual aid agreements.
Massive wildfires tearing through France, Spain and Scotland have forced more than 200,000 people to flee, offering a stark reminder of the climate-driven fire seasons Canadians know all too well. Canada has sent firefighting crews to Europe in recent years under mutual aid agreements and monitors the situation closely.
Huge forest fires have forced the evacuation of more than 200,000 people in south-western France and central Spain. This includes 141,000 tourists and residents in the Gironde and Landes departments where the army has been deployed to help tackle the flames.
Authorities also began the evacuation of thousands from suburbs near Bordeaux on Saturday, while the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, visited areas affected by wildfires near Madrid where 62,000 acres of land has burned.
Éléonore Caroit, the French minister for international partnerships, said that although her country was facing an "exceptionally intense" fire season, tourists should visit as long as they remain well-informed. Ms Caroit told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Saturday: "It's more than an incident, it really is a tragedy, nearly 50,000 hectares have been burned this year. It's significantly worse than last year and even 2022, which was the worst year we had had."
Ms Caroit insisted that France's response was being bolstered by their European Union membership. She said: "Being part of the European Union today makes every possible sense. We have activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism which is an extraordinary mechanism; solidarity is essential in the EU. Right now, we have had the confirmation that two water bombing carriers will come from Croatia, two water tractors from Portugal, two Black Hawk helicopters from Czech Republic and Slovakia. They're helping us now as the situation is terrible; we've helped them in the past. It explains what it is to be in the EU."
Meanwhile in Scotland police declared a major incident on Friday night and homes around Nethy Bridge were evacuated as a precaution after changes in wind conditions accelerated the spread of a wildfire. First Minister John Swinney said the situation at Cairngorms National Park, which has been burning for more than a week, was "very serious".
Spanish Prime Minister Mr 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, according to Spanish newspaper El País. He also reiterated his call for a "national pact against the climate emergency" and asked the public to "accept and understand" that climate change is causing increasingly severe forest fires that are "exceeding scientific predictions".
Ms Caroit urged world leaders to see the fires, which have killed two firefighters, injured 42 more and are confirmed to have destroyed around 100 homes so far, as a wake-up call for climate change. She said: "[This is] something we're seeing in many parts of the world. Remember the wildfires in California, Chile. The climate is changing, we're having a terrible impact on it. While leaders in the world continue to say climate change doesn't matter, we're seeing the concrete effects everywhere. We have to take it seriously. [France has] invested millions but we're seeing it's not enough."