France and Spain on fire: Macron calls crisis meeting as wildfires threaten Bordeaux

Around 77,000 hectares have been affected by the fires in Spain, the Minister of Ecological Transition, Sarah Agesson, said on Sunday.

She added that the wildfire burning in the Avila region is the largest in the country’s recent history.

Among the residents who fled the area was Olga Congacha, 50, who fled in haste from her village of Robledo de Chavela, west of Madrid.

She said she was “shocked” when he told her to leave the house.

“I didn’t know whether to cry or what. It was a time when you felt really bad,” she added.

When she returned home briefly to get medicine for Sunday, she said her streets were deserted and her house was covered in ash.

Officials said the winds were pushing the wildfire near Madrid south and away from the capital, but forced the evacuation of more villages along its path.

More than 90,000 people have been evacuated from the Madrid and Avila area.