Spain declares emergency as fires force thousands of evacuations in France

NAVALUENGA, Spain/LEGE-CAP-FERRET, France, July 24 - Spain declared a national emergency over wildfires for the first time on Friday and France asked for help from the European Union to tackle a blaze on the Atlantic coast as searing heat fuelled fires across Europe and forced tens of thousands of evacuations.

French authorities ordered the total evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula, a tourism hotspot busy for the summer season, as smoke and flames drew closer to homes.

About 63,000 people were evacuated from the area, many brought to safety by boat, officials said.

Close by, in the town of Biscarrosse, another large fire also forced residents to leave their homes.

"From our home, we had a view of the fires ...

We could see the clouds becoming darker and darker," said Yoan Urien, 26, who left late on Thursday after police told everyone in his neighbourhood to leave.

"I was able to find somewhere to take shelter with my pets, but ... it's quite a shock," he told Reuters.

A fire that began in Saumos, north of Cap Ferret, is threatening to cut off the only road out of the peninsula and is ...