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France's Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez says that 110,000 people have been evacuated as the wildfires have burned over 14,000 hectares (34,600 acres) in south-west France.

"We have never seen a convective fire of this magnitude," Nuñez tells French broadcaster TF1, explaining that around 50 firefighters have been injured today.

Nuñez explains that firefighters have been left exhausted and that they will be reinforced by military resources to "combat this completely unprecedented situation".

He describes how the fire is "self-sustaining" and changes direction, explaining that it is heading east towards the Bordeaux metropolitan area.

Nuñez adds that Bordeaux airport is currently closed and European countries have responded to France's calls for help.

Earlier, we heard that more than 44,000 had been evacuated from the area.

The evacuations across France and Spain now total 135,000, according to the latest figures from both countries.

Madrid's regional government says the wildfires are affecting air quality in the areas around the city, warning residents that they could be exposed to the effects of smoke.

In a notice on the Comunidad de Madrid website, it says special attention should be paid to vulnerable people, including children, elderly residents, pregnant women and people with respiratory or cardiovascular diseases.

It advises people to close doors, windows and all ventilation in their homes, to prevent smoke from entering, adding that people should avoid going outside unless it's absolutely necessary.

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The wildfire raging near Madrid is "at its peak" and it is "beyond the capacity" of firefighters "to extinguish it", a local official says.

Carlos Novillo - the regional government's emergency management chief - says the fire is moving toward the municipalities of Robledo de Chavela and Fresnedillas de la Oliva, a few dozen kilometres from Madrid's western outskirts.

People in the two areas were earlier ordered to evacuate by authorities.

"It is not possible to attack the fire in that area, so defensive measures are being taken," Novillo tells reporters.

Approximately 25,000 people have been evacuated and more than 20,000 are in lockdown, Madrid officials say.

Persistent warm and dry weather conditions in France mean wildfires in the region have been even tougher to contain.

On the Cap Ferret peninsula, hundreds escaped the area by boat when they were ordered to evacuate.

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Image source, Reuters

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Madrid's regional president has described how the fires near the Spanish capital are some of the worst it has ever seen.

Responding to the spread of fires, Isabel Díaz Ayuso says it is "the worst fire in the history of the region".

Speaking at an emergency command post in the south-western municipality of Cenicientos, she describes how the area has been facing a "perfect storm" with high temperatures, relentless wind and several fire fronts merging.

"The situation is completely unusual and catastrophic," she says, adding that the priority was saving lives.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has also described how people are "living through a dramatic situation" as forest fires ravage thousands of hectares.

Ecologio Cabrera, 86, was forced to flee his village west of the Spanish capital because of the deadly wildfires.

"If you don't run from it and you try to face it, it devours you," he tells AFP news agency in a sports hall in the village of Vilamanta, where hundreds of evacuees have sought refuge.

Cabrera recalls firefighters racing through his neighbourhood in Aldea del Fresno where he has lived for nearly three decades, ordering everyone to leave immediately.

The family fought to save their home by spraying it continuously with garden hoses until firefighters appeared, he says.

"They arrived and told everybody to get out... I have never experienced anything like this."

Image source, Reuters

More than 65,000 people have been evacuated across Spain and France as significant wildfires continue to burn on the continent.

Approximately 25,000 people have been evacuated in Spain and more than 20,000 are in lockdown, the delegate of the government in the Community of Madrid, Francisco Martín, says in his latest press update.

Meanwhile, more than 44,000 people have been forced to evacuate over the past two days in the south-west of France following a wildfire in the Gironde region.

The fire has destroyed more than 12,500 hectares of forest as well as 53 homes and a campsite as of 12:00 local time (11:00 BST) on Friday, local prefect Sophie Brocas announced.

Brocas also announced further preventive evacuations in the districts of Arès, Andernos, Le Temple, and Saumos.

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Authorities in France's Gironde region are expanding evacuation orders due to the rapidly spreading wildfire there.

The municipalities of Sainte-Hélène, Salaunes and Lanton, west of Bordeaux, have now been ordered to undergo preventative evacuation.

The Gironde blaze - described as an "XXL fire" by local prefect Sophie Broca - had already forced the evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula.

In an online post announcing the latest evacuations, officials urged those in the area to "follow the instructions of the authorities and stay informed".

Back-to-back heatwaves have worsened fire danger in Europepublished at 18:03 BST 24 July

18:03 BST 24 July

Sarah Keith-Lucas
BBC Weather

Wildfires are still burning in several parts of Europe, with France, Italy and Spain being the worst affected countries.

Extreme heat has been gripping places such as Murcia and Sicily over recent days, with temperatures in Sardina rising above 47C.

Three back-to-back heatwaves in Europe - the world’s fastest warming continent - have exacerbated the fire danger, along with the abundance of dry vegetation.

A wet winter followed by a sunny spring in western Europe created optimal conditions for vegetation growth in the region.

Then the recent hot and dry weather has then dried out this vegetation, providing a huge amount of fuel for fires that do ignite.

The fire danger does improve for some places into the weekend as a couple of cold fronts will work their way into western Europe.

These front will bring some showers and thunderstorms, initially across northern Spain and Portugal Saturday morning, before spreading across southern France and the western Alps later on Saturday.

By Sunday, much of Italy, the Balkans and eastern Europe will see some showery rain and a drop in temperature will accompany the rain in many places too.

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Approximately 23,000 people have been evacuated from the Landes region between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, the region's prefect has said.

Gilles Clavreul tells the press during an update this afternoon that there is an evacuation under way in Parentis-en-Born and 8,000 people are expected to be moved as a result.

The region also includes the area near the town of Biscarrosse, which has been affected by the fires - it does not include the fire in Cap Ferret.

He says 500 firefighters have been deployed, with five having been injured but not severely, and approximately 105 properties have been “affected by the flames” or “even destroyed”.

The prefect says weather developments are "not really favourable" and some rain is expected, but there have not currently been any victims reported in the civilian population.

As fires continue to rage across France and Spain, tens of thousands have been evacuated from homes and holiday resorts.

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In Spain, wildfires have gripped the country as they edge closer and closer to the capital, with thousands evacuating to safety.

Image source, AFP via Getty Images

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Authorities in the Gironde region in France say the fire in Cap Ferret continues to spread, destroying 12,500 hectares (nearly 31,000 acres).

The prefect of the Gironde region said in a post on X this was measured as of 14:00 local time (13;00 BST).

Preventative evacuations are under way in the areas of Arès, Andernos, Le Temple, and Saumos.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said earlier that 40,000 people had been evacuated in Gironde and 23,000 in Landes, as a precautionary measure.

Earlier on Friday, the entirety of the Cap Ferret peninsula on France's south-west coast was ordered to be evacuated due to ongoing fires in the Gironde region, with local prefect Sophie Broca calling the blaze an "XXL fire".

Fire and rescue chief Marc Vermeulen said the wildfire on the peninsula had spread rapidly at the end of Thursday and into the early hours of Friday.

French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said 40,000 people had either been or were in the process of being evacuated from the peninsula.

Further down the coast, near the town of Biscarrosse in the Landes region of France, another major fire began on Thursday afternoon.

Landes prefect Gilles Clavreul said the fire was not going to be out by the end of Friday, with winds of up to 50km/h (31mph) and temperatures of 36-37C.

About 18,000 people in Biscarrosse and 5,000 in Parentis-en-Born had to leave their homes, campsites, a nursing home and a summer camp.

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Dozens of fire-fighting helicopters and other craft are being deployed across Spain as crews battle spreading flames.

The latest update from Spanish officials says reinforcements include 11 helicopters, 12 amphibious vessels, and eight forest brigades.

There are also coordination aircraft and support units in place, it adds.

The majority are in action near Burgohondo and San Martín de Valdeiglesias, west of Madrid, and in Ejulve, roughly halfway between Madrid and Barcelona.

Madrid authorities also posted that they had made eight buses available for evacuations to centres set up in Móstoles, in the city's south-west, and to the nearby air base at Getafe.

The largest fires burning near Madrid are to the west of the city.

Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska declared a national emergency on Thursday as fires burned at Villa del Prado and San Martín de Valdeiglesias in the Madrid region and nearby at Burgohondo in Ávila.

The areas of Fresnedillas de la Oliva and Robledo de Chavela have now been ordered to evacuate as the fires continue to burn, meaning approximately 7,000 more people are set to leave their homes.

Local emergency services said earlier on Friday that the Madrid fires had merged, while more than 19,000 people had been evacuated from their homes in three towns west of the capital.

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Tens of thousands of people have been forced to evacuate across Europe as multiple wildfires continue to burn, spurred on by the back-to-back heatwaves that have taken place on the continent.

In Spain, more towns near the capital of Madrid have been ordered to evacuate, as tens of thousands have already begun or completed the process as wildfires continue to burn - they were out of control on Thursday.

Two wildfires near the capital merged earlier today, while authorities believe they could form an even bigger blaze with a fire in the neighbouring Avila province.

The Spanish Ministry of the Interior says in a post on X that Fresnedillas de la Oliva and Robledo de Chavela are the newest towns to be evacuated.

Meanwhile, tourists and residents have been evacuated from the entirety of the Cap Ferret peninsula in the south-west of France, with hundreds escaping by boat.

The fires there, which began on Tuesday, have burned for days, with officials saying 12,500 hectares (more than 30,000 acres) had been consumed by flames.

Meanwhile, in Italy thousands of emergency responders have been working to contain fires, and authorities have paid tribute to a firefighter who died tackling a wildfire in Sicily.

This is a developing story and we will bring you the latest updates and analysis throughout.