'If you don't run, it devours you': Spain declares national emergency and France calls in army as 220,000 flee wildfires spreading across Europe

Spain has declared a national emergency and France has called in the army as more than 220,000 people evacuate amid massive wildfires that continue to ravage Europe.Huge forest blazes have become out of control and are threatening towns across the two countries, with Brits evacuated from hotels and high winds on Saturday are expected to spread the flames further.Nasa has been forced to abandon a communications complex in Spain, impacting the agency's ability to communicate with space probes, while an additional 500 troops have been sent in to south-west France to assist firefighters.Some 140,000 people have been evacuated from the region, while in Spain, the figure has hit at least 63,000.As a blaze in France looks to threaten the city of Bordeaux, a fire near Madrid is 'at its peak' and is at risk of merging with a second blaze today, something government official Nicanor Sen Velez said would be 'very bad news'.Residents have been left terrified as they flee their homes, with one Spanish resident describing how 'if you don't run from it [the fire], it devours you'.A national wildfire emergency has now been declared in Spain and the European Union has been drafted in to help and is deploying seven planes to the two countries to help firefighting efforts.Elsewhere, wildfires have also been reported in Sicily, Italy and Alijó, Portugal, as another record-breaking summer has left 'tinderbox' conditions across Europe, with the threat of yet more fires breaking out still severe.And in Britain, a large fire in Cairngorms National Park in Scotland has seen some 500 firefighters tackling the blaze – with experts warning changing wind today could see it get worse. A major incident has been declared. Dramatic pictures released by French authorities show an intense wildfire burning in Biscarrosse, southern France, on Saturday morning Huge forest blazes have become out of control and are threatening towns across Europe (Pictured: Blaze in Biscarrosse) A huge fire is also ongoing in the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland (pictured on Friday) Firefighters in France try to prevent the spread of a blaze in Lege-Cap-Ferret, south-west France A firefighter targets water onto a blaze in south-west France late on Friday Firefighters battle a wildfire in Fresnedillas area, near El Escorial, north of Madrid, Spain on Saturday Aerial images show the devastation left behind in Spain by huge wildfiers - some 63,000 people have been evacuated in the country A burnt out car on Sicily Island in Italy on Friday, after a wildfire ravaged the area A fire map from Nasa shows the concentrated blazes to the west of Madrid and BordeauxDozens of firefighters have been injured, authorities have said, but no fatalities have been reported. In France, thousands of people were evacuated from suburbs near Bordeaux on Saturday as wildfires in areas around the city showed no signs of abating.Local official Sophie Brocas said the areas of Le Haillan, Eysines and Merignac were being fully cleared of residents. Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said more than 141,000 people had so far been evacuated from the Gironde and Landes regions with motorists also advised to avoid the region.'The fires that are hitting our country have reached a level that has never been seen before,' Lecornu wrote on X on Saturday. So far this month, temperatures have averaged 32.2 degrees Celsius (90 Fahrenheit) across the broader Aquitaine region, which is 7.3C (13.1F) above the normal high for July between 1961 and 1990.Mass evacuations have been taking place throughout the day – including by boat – from Cap Ferret in southwestern France, some 40 miles from Bordeaux, where wildfires have burnt through thousands of hectares of forest and destroyed luxury villas.Many had been woken in the middle of the night and had bagged as many of their belongings as possible and scooped up their pets to head to Hall 3 of the Parc Des Expositions De Bordeaux.Around 1,000 camp beds had been made available, all of which had been snapped up by 4am this morning. At least 5,000 people were crammed into the stuffy hall by 8am, some of whom had arrived seven hours earlier.Trestle tables were set up filled with board games, toys and books for children. Bottles of water were handed out to those who were seeking shelter.Valerie and Peter Horrilo left their home in Saint-Aubin-de-Médoc at 1am after getting the alert.Sitting on a camp bed, 56-year-old Valerie said: 'We've tried to sleep but it's difficult, there's a lot of news and the lights are on. I've used my earplugs, which have helped a little, but it's not been the best night of my life.'As we got into the car to leave home, all our neighbours were doing the same.'Everyone was very calm. We'd been expecting to be evacuated at some point in the evening because the local authority had warned us that the smoke was drifting over towards our direction. Thousands of people in southwest France have been evacuated to Hall 3 of the Parc Des Expositions De Bordeaux Evacuated residents Loic Dumont (centre) with his sister Sandrine (left), son Enzo, 18 wife Marie, 44 and daughter Zoe, 15 Valerie and Peter Horrilo left their home in Saint-Aubin-de-Médoc at 1am after getting the alert People sleep on carpet tiles in France after being evacuated from wildfire zones Evacuated residents queue for food after fleeing their homes in the dead of night at Bordeaux's exhibition hall Some 1,000 camp beds had been set up in the hall, with around 5,000 people having arrived by 8am on Saturday Local residents evacuated to Bordeaux Expo Centre take a nap outside A map shows the risk of wildfires breaking out across Europe for this week'We had a bag packed with clothes so when the phone alerts sounded, we were all ready to go.'From our home we can see and smell the smoke and ash falls from the sky like snow, but the fire is far away. We still have some Covid face masks left over and we've been using them when we've been outside.'We don't know when we'll be allowed back, I hope soon but it depends on the wind direction. We're also due some rain, which is badly needed.'Peter, 63, added: 'We were on holiday in Greece two years ago when a typhoon forced us to sleep on the floor of a local airport so we have a little experience of this, but I've never been made to leave my home before.'We are trying to make the best out of a bad situation, we are safe at least and as comfortable as possible.'Loic Dumont, 49, left home at 1am in Saint Aubin with wife Marie, 44, son Enzo, 18 and 15-year-old daughter Zoe as well as their three dogs and pet cat.He met his sister Sandrine Dumont at the shelter after she too had been forced to evacuate.He said: 'We were expecting to have to leave home at some point so we already had the bags in the car.'When we got here in the middle of the night it was a little busy but thousands of people have arrived since and the hall is now nearly full.'We didn't want to take up any of the camp beds because there were older people who needed them more but we asked volunteers who are helping at the shelter if they had anything we could sit or lie on.'They managed to find us half a dozen of what look like carpet tiles that make lying on the hard floor a bit more comfortable. I couldn't sleep so ended up going to my car and trying to get a few hours rest instead.'We've got enough food and snacks and everyone is banding together. I hope we'll be able to go home soon as we're not near the fires at all, it's just the smoke drifting over that may be harmful.'Xavier Delort, 57, was sitting with friends at a table reading the local Sud Ouest newspaper with a dramatic front page picture of the forest fire accompanied by the headline 'L'apocalypse'.In broken English, he said: 'Everything is ok. We're here just as a precaution. We're feeling good.'Sitting across from Mr Delort was Cecilia Racheme, 47, who had jumped in a cab at 4am with her two sons, aged 16 and six, from their home in Mérignac, a suburb east of Bordeaux's centre. Some 140,000 people have been evacuated in France due to raging wildfires French firefighters tackle a blaze in Lege-Cap-Ferret in south-west France on Friday The blaze in Scotland (pictured) could get worse today as changing winds make it increasingly unpredictable A burned house and vehicle in Lanton, in the Lege-Cap-Ferret region on Saturday A view of the damage in the Casaboli Forest following a wildfire, near Palermo on Sicily island A firetruck moves to battle a wildfire affecting Castile y Leon province, in the village of El Tiemblo, Spain, on Friday Firefighters assess the area outside the village of El Tiemblo during efforts to battle a wildfire affecting Castile y Leon province, SpainShe said: 'I was worried because the SMS alert came during the early hours when it was dark and I didn't know how far the fires were.'We could smell the smoke and so that unnerved me a little.'As much as I want to go home, I'm concerned that we'll be in danger from the smoke and possibly the flames if they spread this far.'We've bought some food and snacks from home. I hope this is all over soon.'Most of those in the exhibition centre seeking shelter from the wildfire are local French families but one British father of two had been evacuated with his wife and young children from a hotel close to Bordeaux Airport.He declined to give his name but said he was on holiday from Solihull in the West Midlands, adding: 'We'd been in a campsite near Gastes but moved over to Bordeaux to get away from the fire.'We'd been in a hotel overnight when the alert came at 4am for us to vacate. Luckily, this has happened right at the end of our two week holiday and we're hoping to fly back home later today… as long as the flight isn't cancelled.'In neighbouring Spain, firefighters hoped to get control of wildfires raging near Madrid on Saturday but an official warned that erratic winds threatened to fan the blazes further.The fires in the parched countryside have forced 63,000 people to flee their homes or remain indoors, the interior ministry said, in what officials have called the region's worst fire on record.Thick grey smoke filled the sky west of the capital and the smell of burning reached the streets of central Madrid.With temperatures dipping, 'there is a real opportunity now to tackle this fire with some guarantee of success', the central government's delegate in Madrid, Francisco Martin, told reporters late Friday.On Friday, 'the temperature has dropped, the wind has eased and the relative humidity has risen,' he said.But he warned that Saturday would be 'difficult' as 'the wind is expected to rise in the morning, with rather erratic gusts'.The Madrid regional government's emergency management chief Carlos Novillo had told reporters earlier Friday that the fire was 'at its peak and... currently beyond the capacity of firefighters to contain'.Two separate wildfires combined on Friday to become one huge blaze, which was close to merging with yet another near Avila in the neighbouring Castilla y Leon region.The fires have burned 25,000 hectares, the Spanish interior ministry said today, ravaging nearly 10,000 hectares in the Madrid region and 'between 13,000 and 15,000' in the neighbouring province of Avila.The total is more than twice the surface area of the city of Paris.The Madrid regional government said on X that more than 2,000 people were being looked after in 14 emergency evacuation centres.Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told reporters Friday there were nine other fires at various locations in Spain.In Scotland, the Cairngorms fire is at risk of flaring up again on Saturday after a change in wind direction.Some 500 firefighters have been tackling it over the last nine days, alongside specialist wildfire appliances, all-terrain vehicles, helicopter water-bombing operations and partner agencies. People in the Nethy Bridge area were evacuated overnight as a precaution after Police Scotland declared the blaze a major incident.Residents are being directed to a dedicated respite centre at the Macdonald Aviemore Hotel, and access roads into Nethy Bridge have been closed. Police Scotland Superintendent Judy Hill said: 'The weather conditions experienced within the Cairngorms over the last 24 hours have added further complexities to this situation.'With evidence suggesting the fire is spreading towards Nethy Bridge, the decision has been taken to declare a major incident and evacuate residents as a precaution.'Additional police resources are being deployed to assist in contacting those who need to leave their properties and to maintain cordons around restricted areas while our fire service colleagues continue to tackle the wildfire.'We understand this is a very concerning time for residents, businesses and visitors to the Cairngorms region.'Please be assured that the multi-agency response remains fully committed to bringing this incident to a safe conclusion as quickly as possible.'The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said it has maintained a 'significant operational response' since the wildfire was first reported on July 15.The smoke from the fire can now be seen as far away as Aberdeen.