Wildfires on the coast of southwestern France moved inland towards Bordeaux on Saturday (July 25), forcing the evacuation of thousands in the city's suburbs, while blazes across the border in Spain caused their first death.

Hundreds of thousands of people ‌have been evacuated in both countries because of those fires, the latest natural disasters linked to sustained dry spells and successive heatwaves that scientists say have been exacerbated by climate change.

Some residents are taking matters into their own hands late into the night.

Pascal Roudier, a cereal farmer from the Charente-Maritime department, drove his tractor down a road near Saumos, spraying the ground with water from a tank in hopes of preventing the fire's spread.

"We came to lend a hand because if it were our region, we'd want others to do the same," he said. "And given the scale of the disaster, we think our efforts are very welcome too."

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

NEAR SAUMOS, FRANCE (JULY 26, 2026) (REUTERS - Access all) (NIGHT SHOTS)

1. VARIOUS OF FIREFIGHTERS SPRAYING WATER ON BURNING TREES

2. TREES SILHOUETTED BY FIRE

3. VARIOUS OF WATER SPRAYING FROM FIRE TRUCK HOSE

4. FIRE TRUCK PARKED NEAR FIRE WITH LIGHTS FLASHING

5. VARIOUS OF FIRE BURNING

6. VARIOUS OF FIREFIGHTERS STANDING NEXT TO FIRE TRUCK

7. TRACTOR DRIVING THROUGH SMOKE

8. VARIOUS OF WATER FROM TANKER SPRAYING OVER ROAD

9. (SOUNDBITE) (French) CEREAL FARMER WHO CAME FROM CHARENTE-MARITIME DEPARTMENT, PASCAL ROUDIER, 65, SAYING:

"We came to lend a hand because if it were our region, we'd want others to do the same. And given the scale of the disaster, we think our efforts are very welcome too."

10. VARIOUS OF FIREFIGHTER SILHOUETTED BY FIRE

11. VARIOUS OF FIREFIGHTERS CARRYING HOSES AWAY FROM FIRE TRUCK

12. VARIOUS OF FIREFIGHTERS FEEDING HOSE INTO FIRE TRUCK

13. FIREFIGHTER WALKING

14. VARIOUS OF FIREFIGHTERS STANDING NEAR FIRE TRUCK

15. FIRE TRUCK DRIVING ONTO ROAD

16. (SOUNDBITE) (French) CEREAL FARMER WHO CAME FROM CHARENTE-MARITIME DEPARTMENT, PASCAL ROUDIER, 65, SAYING (ON THE WELCOME RECEIVED):

"We're very welcome because we're arriving with a relatively large volume of water, and they really need that much water. And we're also refilling the large water tankers parked nearby, spraying water along the roadsides to help the firefighters in the areas that haven't burned."

17. VARIOUS OF FIREFIGHTERS STANDING AT ROADSIDE