A further 55,000 people have been evacuated from six towns in France after wildfires continued to spread across the country.
Evacuations were announced in southern Bordeaux towns in the Gironde region, adding to the scale of the crisis.
Wildfires have raged across Europe for a week, with more than 330,000 people displaced, primarily in France and Spain.
France has suffered the largest forest fires since World War II, with 42,000 hectares already burned, bringing the national total to roughly 98,000 hectares this year.
Captain Nicolas Braz, who led the firefighting push, described the blaze as “its own winds – complete with whirlwinds”, calling it erratic and unmanageable.
Dry vegetation and strong winds continue to push the fires forward, causing the closure of a 60 km stretch of the A63 motorway that leads into Spain.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez cautioned that it would take a long time to bring the fires under control, and that evacuated residents could not return until containment.
France has mobilised the military to support the firefighters, deploying extra troops to clear brush and build firebreaks.
President Emmanuel Macron pledged that France would rebuild, and his government would stay on hand “as long as necessary.”
In Spain, fires spread too, with more than 90,000 displaced around Madrid and Ávila, and some nearby municipalities forced to evacuate in late Saturday.
Higher temperatures and low humidity are expected on Sunday, potentially allowing the fire to spread further.
Madrid’s regional governor Isabel Díaz Ayuso called the situation the “worst fire in the history of the region”, while Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez warned of complex times ahead.
València authorities reported a man’s death in a fire.
