Photos Show the Destruction in France and Spain From Ferocious European Wildfires

Firefighters in France and Spain are battling ferocious wildfires in an effort to control the blazes before the next heat wave arrives later this week. French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday described the "completely unprecedented" crisis as the "toughest since the Second World War." He urged firefighters to "stay strong" as they prepared to face the wildfire in the Gironde region, near Bordeaux. An estimated 220,000 people have been evacuated in the Gironde region, since the most pervasive fire broke out last week. The Landes region further south has seen at least 30,000 people evacuated. The fire in Landes is now under control, Macron said, but he warned it "remains virulent" and urged extreme caution over the coming days. "Our country is going through an unprecedented fire season: 116,085 hectares have already burned and 13,566 fire starts have been recorded since January," France’s Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Monday. (116,000 hectares is roughly 287,000 acres.) In Spain, officials fighting the blazes near Madrid say they are the worst the region has ever experienced. Firefighters are also battling a wildfire in Castellón, a province near Valencia. More than 100,000 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes or take shelter as emergency services attempt to get the flames under control in the face of changing winds. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told reporters Tuesday that the authorities "can begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel" in the fight against the wildfires, but he expressed concern about the approaching heat wave. The authorities "will continue to mobilize all resources until the last flame is extinguished," he vowed. Sánchez has referred to the wildfire crisis as "the most painful expression" of the climate emergency. As the European countries reckon with the remaining blazes and brace for the potential impact of the incoming heat wave, here are photos showing the devastation caused by the wildfires so far. Deadly Wildfires in Western Europe Force Hundreds of Thousands to Evacuate