Thousands evacuated as wildfires hit Spain and southern France

The regional government of Madrid said 10,000 people had been evacuated from different villages as multiple fires raged out of control late on Thursday

Record temperatures have fanned the flames (Mateo Lanzuela/Europa Press via AP)

Spain’s government has declared a national emergency after wildfires forced the evacuation of some 10,000 people in the central region of Madrid, while in southern France tens of thousands fled their homes to escape two major blazes.

The national emergency in Spain means that the nation’s interior ministry, which controls police and security forces, has taken charge of overseeing the firefighting efforts by Spain’s regions as they struggle to battle multiple blazes that are being fanned by a heatwave.