Europe wildfire in pictures: Gigantic fire cloud engulfing France, Spain regions
A rare wildfire spreading across France's Bordeaux region and has spread to Western Madrid is fire cloud that can generate its own thunderstorms.
A monster wildfire engulfing parts of France's Bordeaux region has claimed hundreds and thousands of acres of land and forced one of the largest evacuations in the country.
The fire began in the Southwest of France in Gironde last Wednesday and has burned nearly 104,000 acres in France, and around 190,000 acres in the Avila and Toledo areas in Western Madrid. In what's been described as an "unprecedented" and "historic" situation, France has seen almost 250,000 acres burned since the beginning of the year.
The wildfire has been described as a "pyrocumulonimbus," which is an extremely rare and dangerous type of fire cloud that generates its own thunderstorms, winds, and whirlwinds, making it "erratic and unmanageable," Nicolas Braz, a firefighter Captain, told AFP . More than 300,000 people have been forced to evacuate.
