Wildfires Threaten Wine Region of Bordeaux as 360,000 Evacuate

[Anchor]

Wildfires raging out of control in France and Spain have displaced some 360,000 people. A state of emergency has been declared in Spain, while in France, the world-renowned wine region of Bordeaux is under threat from the flames.

Reporter Kim Young-a has the story.

[Reporter]

Columns of thick, black smoke continuously rise along the road.

Firefighting aircraft and engines rush in incessantly, while workers in the fields are busy cutting down healthy trees and plowing through grasslands.

[Jo Meng / Public Relations Officer, Gironde Fire Department: This is to cut off the fuel as much as possible. Once we position fire engines here, we can establish firebreaks to prevent the fire from spreading.]

The Gironde wildfire, which started in France's famous resort peninsula of Cap Ferret, is moving eastward at an alarming speed.

It has approached within just 20-odd kilometers of downtown Bordeaux.

As of the morning of the 26th local time, 42,000 hectares—four times the area of Paris—had burned, and 256,000 people had evacuated.

The remaining residents are fighting a desperate battle to protect Bordeaux, a world-famous wine-producing region, from the flames.

[Hernandez / President, Gironde Young Farmers Association: This is to protect our precious homes. If we quickly pump water, firefighters can focus on suppressing the fire.]

In Spain, where a state of emergency has been declared, the flames have even reached the capital region of Madrid.

Parts of the city have been turned to ashes, and evacuation orders have been issued for more than 100,000 residents, including 60,000 in Madrid alone.

[Dominguez / Evacuated Resident, Madrid: Cars were tangled up and moving back and forth, and every road was packed with vehicles trying to get out, so it was absolute chaos. It felt like the end of the world.]

With extreme heatwaves drying out grass and trees completely, compounded by strong winds, the fires show little sign of subsiding.

The European Union has activated its disaster response cooperation system, deploying firefighting aircraft and personnel to France and Spain.

Pope Leo XIV called for prayers for those affected by the unprecedented wildfires and for the rescue workers.

[Video Editing: Jung Sung-hoon]

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