Wildfires in southwest France forced more than 250,000 people from their homes, burned about 42,000 hectares in Gironde and pushed toward the Bordeaux metropolitan area.

A self-feeding firestorm advanced toward Bordeaux as thousands of firefighters, aircraft and soldiers fought blazes across southwest France.

Overnight orders moved another 55,000 people from five localities southwest of Bordeaux as the Gironde wildfire advanced.

A separate fire in the Landes region displaced 36,000 people, taking the southwest France total above 250,000.

Authorities estimated that about 42,000 hectares had burned in Gironde, an area roughly four times the size of Paris.

France mobilized about 2,500 firefighters, 18 aircraft and helicopters, military personnel and an A400M cargo aircraft configured to drop retardant.

Seventy-five firefighters were treated for injuries and hundreds of homes were destroyed, according to the Gironde prefecture.

Officials said the blaze had repeatedly formed self-feeding firestorms capable of generating lightning and new ignitions.

Successive heat waves left forests and scrubland exceptionally dry before shifting and gusting winds accelerated the fire.

Forecast temperatures near 37 degrees Celsius threatened to complicate containment work during the coming days.

Spain was also fighting uncontrolled fires near Madrid and Valencia, where evacuations continued and one death was recorded.

The evidence supports a bounded conclusion: Wildfires in southwest France forced more than 250,000 people from their homes, burned about 42,000 hectares in Gironde and pushed toward the Bordeaux metropolitan area. It does not resolve the remaining uncertainty because Burned-area, injury and property-loss totals remained provisional while crews could not safely assess every zone. The factual horizon is therefore defined by Containment lines before the next heat increase and Whether evacuees can return and critical routes around Bordeaux reopen.

The current reporting limit is specific: Burned-area, injury and property-loss totals remained provisional while crews could not safely assess every zone.

The next verifiable developments are Containment lines before the next heat increase and Whether evacuees can return and critical routes around Bordeaux reopen.