Wildfires force evacuation of over 200K people in France and Spain

Massive forest fires forced the evacuation of some 200,000 people in southwestern France and central Spain, with residents fleeing towns near Madrid and Bordeaux as the flames raged out of control.
Firefighters and authorities in both European countries on Friday were caught off guard by the virulence of the fires, which were fuelled by high temperatures and the long-term effects of climate change.
Firefighters in Spain admitted the fires were so fast and violent that they could not be tackled head on.

Some people even fled by boat when flames swept through the touristic area on France's Atlantic coast.
Some 141,000 fled homes in the Gironde and Landes departments in France, the French interior ministry said.

In central Spain, 60,000 were forced from their homes, according to the Spanish interior ministry.
Dozens of French firefighters were injured, authorities said, but no deaths were reported in either country despite the scenes of panic as townsfolk fled by car and police went d