Tourists have described their holidays turning into evacuation missions as wildfires spread across parts of France and Spain. In France, visitors on the Cap Ferret peninsula reported being given 30 minutes to leave their campsites after police intervention.
Despite the ongoing fires, the UK Foreign Office is not currently advising against travel to France or Spain. Éléonore Caroit, France's minister for international partnerships, stated on Saturday that most regions remain unaffected and urged tourists not to cancel their travel plans. "You have entire areas that are fine, you're seeing similar phenomena in Spain and other countries," she said. "I'm in Paris and nothing is happening, and most other regions are OK, so do please come to France and do not cancel your travel plans."
However, she cautioned, "But wherever you are, please do be advised as to what might be happening."
In Spain, fires in the wider Madrid region have led to the closure of a NASA facility located 37 miles (65km) west of the city. The regional president of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, characterized the fire as the "worst fire in the history of the region," attributing the severity to a combination of high temperatures, strong winds, and merging fire fronts. Tourists evacuated from wildfires near San Martin de Valdeiglesias have been sheltered in a sports hall in Villamanta, west of Madrid.
Mention of wildfires was also made in relation to Greece, where fires were seen in Chalkida on the island of Euboea in July. In southwestern France, beachgoers at Lake Lacanau in Gironde observed smoke rising into the sky from wildfires on July 24, creating an orange sky. Other images show fires burning in Biscarrosse, southern France.