Further on the Atlantic coast, around the town of Biscarrosse in Landes, another major fire which broke out on Thursday afternoon caused the evacuation of more than 23,000 people.
Around 18,000 people in Biscarrosse and 5,000 in Parentis-en-Born had to leave their homes, a campsite, a retirement home and a summer camp.
Landes prefect Gilles Clavreul said the fire around Biscarrosse would not be extinguished by the end of Friday, with winds reaching 50 km/h (31 mph) and temperatures of 36 to 37°C.
He added that 105 houses and other buildings had so far been identified as partially or completely destroyed by the flames.
No other casualties were reported overnight in southwest France, although two firefighters died Tuesday while battling a blaze near Bordeaux airport.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday evening that the forest fire situation in the country was “very tense”, particularly in the Gironde region.
The European Union sent three planes and two helicopters to help the French fire, as well as four other planes to Spain.
Manager David Morton, 53, from Gloucester, was on holiday with his wife and sons when they received an emergency text alert on Thursday night ordering them to evacuate.
The family was staying in a house in Petit Piquey, along the peninsula, and were awakened at 3:00 a.m. local time (01:00 GMT) by emergency text messages and an alert on the property’s landline.
“We got in our car, packed everything as quickly as possible… then we left and joined a very long, slow line of traffic,” he told the BBC.
“Everyone was driving with their headlights on, very slowly – there were lots of firefighters, ambulances, police on the other side of the road controlling things and we could see several fires in the distance as we drove.”
As they drove past the fire near Lège, Mr Morton described the flames as “huge”.
“You could see the whole forest was on fire and it really drove home what a major fire this was.”
He described the evacuation as “well controlled”, with people being “very respectful and sensible”.
“It’s different to see this on television… to see a fire get out of control despite the help of hundreds and hundreds of firefighters and women.”
In Spain, firefighters are battling wildfires in several areas not far from Madrid and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska declared a national state of emergency as fires burned in Villa del Prado and San Martín de Valdeiglesias in the Madrid region and in Burgohondo in Ávila.
Pedro Sánchez said wildfires are “ravaging thousands of hectares” and affecting many communities.
“The government has deployed all available resources. It will be with you during the emergency and during the recovery.”
Local emergency services said more than 10,000 people had been evacuated.
An update on Friday morning described both fires as “out of control”, although their progress in recent hours had been “limited”.
Aldea del Fresno and some other areas in the region were evacuated.
Europe is the fastest warming continent, with heating more than twice the global average since the 1980s, according to the EU’s Copernicus climate change service. This rapid rise in temperatures makes summers hotter and, particularly in the south, drier.
Hotter, drier conditions leave soils, trees and other vegetation with less moisture, creating the fuel in which wildfires can take hold. A spark is always necessary – most often due to human activity, usually accidental but sometimes deliberate, or lightning.
Once a fire starts, extreme heat, dry vegetation and high winds can help it spread faster, burn more intensely and become much more difficult to control.
How forests and landscapes are managed is also important: accumulated vegetation and abandoned land can further fuel fires. But the European Environment Agency said “climate change has increased the risk of wildfires across Europe”, with the greatest danger expected in southern Europe.
Additional reporting from BBC climate editor Justin Rowlatt.
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