Nearly 200,000 people were forced to flee their homes in southwestern France and central Spain on Friday as fast-moving wildfires tore through forests and threatened towns near Bordeaux and Madrid.

Authorities said around 141,000 residents were evacuated from France’s Gironde and Landes regions, while another 60,000 people were displaced in central Spain as firefighters battled blazes intensified by scorching temperatures and prolonged dry conditions linked to climate change.

Emergency crews struggled to contain the fires, with Spanish firefighters acknowledging that the flames were spreading too rapidly and fiercely to be confronted directly.

In France, some residents escaped by boat after fires engulfed parts of the popular Atlantic coastal tourist area.

Despite chaotic evacuations, officials reported no fatalities in either country.

However, dozens of French firefighters were injured as emergency teams went door to door urging residents to leave while thick smoke billowed across affected areas.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez warned that the largest wildfire in southwestern France was advancing toward the city of Bordeaux after shifting winds transformed it into what he described as a “self-sustaining” blaze.

The fire, which forced the evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula earlier in the day, has already scorched about 140 square kilometres, prompting authorities to reorganise firefighting efforts to slow its advance toward the Bordeaux metropolitan area.

Officials in both France and Spain said they were monitoring weather conditions closely as high temperatures and strong winds continued to hamper containment efforts.