France says Gironde ‘megafire’ is contained, as wildfires continue to burn in Greece and Spain

Wildfires continued to put pressure on emergency services across Europe, with Greece, France and Spain all battling major outbreaks.

But the wildfire in the Gironde region of south-west France has been “contained”, the French interior minister Laurent Nuñez said. The “megafire”, as it has become known in France, that ravaged 42,000 hectares (about 103,800 acres) of land “is no longer spreading”, Nuñez announced this morning, according to the French newspaper Le Monde.

This followed what firefighters described as a “mild night”, with “slightly more favourable” weather conditions.

However, a wildfire in the south-eastern Var area reignited after being brought under control, spreading rapidly and forcing nearly 2,500 people to evacuate as firefighters worked to contain it, the French news channel BFM TV reported.

In Greece, strong winds fuelled fires in several areas, including the central region of Boeotia, about 80km (50 miles) north-west of Athens, where more than 200 people were evacuated by sea, Reuters reported. Emergency alerts were also issued for the Attica region around the capital and the nearby island of Evia.

Spain faced a mixed situation, with fires continuing in several regions including León and Zamora in the north-west and Castellón on the eastern coast. Some areas saw conditions improve and evacuation orders lifted, with the fire in Castellón’s Vall d’Uixó area stabilised after burning nearly 10,000 hectares (24,700 acres) of land, with authorities investigating suspected arson after finding two ignition points. Major fires in central Spain, including Madrid and Ávila, had also been brought under control.