Military sent in to tackle wildfires as 270,000 are forced from homes by blazes across Spain and France and smoke and ash reaches Madrid - with Spanish PM warning of 'complex hours ahead'

- See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source France called in military reinforcements on Saturday as some of the worst European wildfires on record rampaged out of control. More than 270,000 residents and tourists have been ordered to leave their homes amid apocalyptic scenes both across the Channel and in Spain, where a national emergency has been declared. Flames continued to rage just 12 miles west of Bordeaux in south-west France while a wildfire near the Madrid was said to be 'at its peak' on Saturday evening as thousands were told to stay indoors. On Saturday, as the mass evacuations continued, it was announced: - The wildfires have claimed their first Spanish victim, a man trapped in his car; - President Macron has mobilised 1,500 troops to south-west France - Emergency plans were being drawn up to evacuate the city of Bordeaux; - Today's final stage of the Tour de France in Paris will be shortened so that security staff can be re-deployed; - And closer to home, hundreds of firefighters were battling a blaze in Scotland's Cairngorms. The French fires, which began on Tuesday in a pine forest west of Bordeaux, have so far burned through 390 square miles of woodland, incinerating homes and holiday villas. Officials say strong winds and hot embers have made the situation worse, igniting fresh blazes several miles apart. The situation, they admit with understatement, is 'far from under control'. Nearly 200,000 people, including British tourists, have been told to leave their homes in the Gironde and Landes region, including the Lege-Cap-Ferret tourist destination sometimes known as the 'French Hamptons', a popular spot for the rich and famous. On Friday, the authorities ordered the evacuation of the whole of the Cap Ferret peninsula with hundreds escaping by boat. Many found safety in the picturesque town of Arcachon across the water. Residents and visitors were given just 30 minutes to pack. Dramatic pictures released by French authorities show an intense wildfire burning in Biscarrosse, southern France, on Saturday morning Huge forest blazes have become out of control and are threatening towns across Europe (Pictured: Blaze in Biscarrosse) A huge fire is also ongoing in the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland (pictured on Friday) Firefighters in France try to prevent the spread of a blaze in Lege-Cap-Ferret, south-west France A firefighter targets water onto a blaze in south-west France late on Friday Castilla y Leon district's firefighters battle a fire surrounding La Atalaya residential area in El Tiemblo on Saturday Spanish firefighters hoped to get control of wildfires raging near Madrid on Saturday but an official warned that erratic winds threatened to fan the blazes further Firefighters wait on a road near Lacanau, south-west France, on Saturday A firefighter helicopter drops water over a fire near houses during a wildfire in Valdesanmartin neighborhood near Madrid on Saturday Bystanders look on as fire and smoke billow across Castres-Mazamet aerodrome, near Labruguiere in southwestern France on Friday Firefighters battle a wildfire in Fresnedillas area, near El Escorial, north of Madrid, on Saturday Aerial images show the devastation left behind in Spain by huge wildfires - some 63,000 people have been evacuated in the country A burnt out car on Sicily island in Italy on Friday, after a wildfire ravaged the area A fire map from Nasa shows the concentrated blazes to the west of Madrid and Bordeaux British tourist Ben Sturnham, 50, fled Cap Ferret with his eight-year-old daughter Allegra on a boat in scenes he likened to a 'mini-Dunkirk'. With no taxis available and the road 'absolutely jammed', the only route out involved paying 250 Euros and boarding a boat across the bay to Arcachon. 'By the skin of our teeth we got out just in time,' he said. Parisian Noémie Eisenchteter, a half-British marketing executive, was forced to evacuate a luxury villa after receiving text alerts from the emergency services in the early hours of Friday morning. Ms Eisenchteter, 25, a keen polo player, was only there for 48 hours before plumes of smoke from the forest fires plunged the sky above into darkness. 'We arrived on Cap Ferret on Wednesday evening and there was some smoke on the distance but we didn't think too much of it. 'But when we got up on Thursday the smell of smoke was really powerful, it made the house smell of barbecue, and the sky became really dark, blotting out the sun,' she told The Mail on Sunday. On Saturday night, flames were threatening Bordeaux itself, where – with smoke drifting across the city – officials said they were considering the possibility of a mass evacuation. Residents in the western suburbs have already left, ordered out in the early hours of Saturday morning. A local volunteer collects water from a swimming pool to combat a fire approaching during a wildfire in the Valdesanmartin neighborhood of El Tiemblo, Spain Thousands of people in south-west France have been evacuated to Hall 3 of the Parc Des Expositions De Bordeaux Evacuated residents Loic Dumont (centre) with his sister Sandrine (left), son Enzo, 18 wife Marie, 44 and daughter Zoe, 15 Bordeaux Airport is also on the western edge of the city but was continuing to operate on Saturday night –although some public transport links were suspended. British Airways has begun contacting customers 'to provide assistance' in case they need to change their plans and is offering alternative routes and times. Martin and Nicola Smith, from Jersey, were staying with relatives at the Holiday Inn in Mérignac, just north of Bordeaux Airport when they got a 3.30am wake-up call by staff and told to leave. With smoke billowing across from fires on the Cap Ferret peninsula, the hotel would have to close. Mrs Smith, 49, said: 'It was a shock to the system and quite dramatic, but I'd been getting alerts on my phone all night.' The Bordeaux region's famous vineyards sit several miles to the north of the city along the river Garonne and were not thought to be in danger. Around 60,000 residents have been evacuated in Spain, where fires are closing in on Madrid and the historic city of Avila. Another 28,000 were told to stay at home. The authorities fear the Madrid fire will merge with a second major blaze – something they describe as 'very bad news'. On Saturday the Spanish Prime Minister warned of 'complex hours ahead'. Some residents were left terrified by the evacuation order, with one saying: 'If you don't run from the fire, it devours you'. Valerie and Peter Horrilo left their home in Saint-Aubin-de-Medoc at 1am after getting the alert People sleep on carpet tiles in France after being evacuated from wildfire zones Evacuated residents queue for food after fleeing their homes in the dead of night at Bordeaux's exhibition hall Some 1,000 camp beds had been set up in the hall, with around 5,000 people having arrived by 8am on Saturday Local residents evacuated to Bordeaux Expo Centre take a nap outside A map shows the risk of wildfires breaking out across Europe for this week Meanwhile, America's Nasa space agency has been forced to abandon a communications complex in Spain, impacting the agency's ability to communicate with space probes. European nations are rallying around with supplies of aircraft and specialist equipment. The EU itself has sent five planes and two helicopters to France and four planes to Spain. On Saturday saw the first mission by a French military transport plane deployed to fight the wildfires. The aircraft, equipped with a dispensing kit that can release 20 tons of water or fire retardant, flew over a forest in Lacanau in south-western France. Wildfires have hit much of Europe in recent weeks with Italy, Greece, Portugal and Germany affected as well as parts of Scotland and Wales. More than 500 firefighters were on Saturday tackling a ten-day blaze in the Cairngorms that has been declared a major incident. On Saturday the first minister of Scotland, John Swinney, called for military help from the British government. Fire crews were also battling a wildfire in the Rhinogydd Mountains near Harlech in North Wales. Meanwhile, although thousands of tourists have been affected, Éléonore Caroit, French minister for international partnerships, urged visitors not to change their travel plans. She told Radio 4's Today programme that while the fires have been worse than in 2022, most of the country had not been affected. Some 140,000 people have been evacuated in France due to raging wildfires French firefighters tackle a blaze in Lege-Cap-Ferret in south-west France on Friday The blaze in Scotland (pictured) could get worse today as changing winds make it increasingly unpredictable Flames in a forest in El Tiemblo, 80km west of Madrid, on Saturday A wildfire burns near Lacanau, to the west of Bordeaux, on Saturday Dozens of firefighter trucks are parked in a support line between the villages of Lacanau and Sainte-Helene in the Bordeaux region, south-west France, today A resident throws water on undergrowth in the La Atalaya residential area of El Tiemblo Flames approach a house with a swimming pool near El Tiemblo in Spain on Saturday A burnt house and vehicle in Lanton, in the Lege-Cap-Ferret region on Saturday A view of the damage in the Casaboli Forest following a wildfire, near Palermo on Sicily island A firetruck moves to battle a wildfire affecting Castile y Leon province, in the village of El Tiemblo, Spain, on Friday Firefighters assess the area outside the village of El Tiemblo during efforts to battle a wildfire affecting Castile y Leon province, Spain