Spain has declared a national emergency after two major wildfires merged just outside Madrid, creating what regional leader Isabel Díaz Ayuso described as "the worst wildfire in the region's history."
Díaz Ayuso said the blaze is now "beyond [Spain's] capability to extinguish."
Over a dozen people have died in Spanish wildfires this month alone, in the biggest wildfire the country has ever seen. The Military Emergency unit have been deployed to aid firefighters and try to halt the spread of the fire.
In southwestern France, authorities have ordered the full evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula and areas around Bordeaux.
The fire there has already destroyed more than 19,000 hectares of forest and continues to spread with no sign of slowing.
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said more than 141,000 people have been evacuated from affected regions, with the French army mobilised to support firefighting efforts.
Both Spain and France have requested assistance from the European Union. Hundreds of firefighters have been deployed, with support arriving from countries including Sweden, Portugal, Italy and Greece.
Europe is the fastest warming continent and it is the hot and dry conditions this summer that have created a perfect storm for these wildfires to spread. Reports of fires are growing in places like Italy as "climate change has increased the forest fire risk across Europe," according to the European Environment Agency.
