Wildfires force evacuation of more than 220,000 in France, Spain — Pajhwok

KABUL (Pajhwok): More than 220,000 people have been evacuated as massive wildfires continue to spread across France and Spain, forcing thousands from their homes and prompting both governments to deploy additional emergency resources. French authorities ordered the evacuation of nearly 60,000 more residents near Bordeaux, raising the total number of people displaced in southwestern France to about 200,000. The evacuations have mainly affected the Gironde and Landes regions. President Emmanuel Macron has mobilised the military to assist firefighters and emergency responders battling the blazes, according to the BBC. In Spain, the government declared a national emergency after three wildfires west of Madrid merged into a single blaze that officials said had exceeded firefighters’ capacity to contain. Around 25,000 people have been evacuated, while nearly 40,000 others have been advised to remain indoors as the fire advances toward the municipalities of Robledo de Chavela and Fresnedillas de la Oliva, about 50 kilometres west of Madrid. Madrid regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso described the incident as the worst wildfire in the region’s history, blaming a combination of extreme heat, strong winds and multiple converging fire fronts. “The wildfire is at its peak and is currently beyond the capacity of firefighters to contain,” Madrid regional emergency chief Carlos Novillo told reporters. He said crews were unable to directly attack the fire in some…