Nearly 200,000 people have been evacuated from their homes and holiday destinations as fast-moving wildfires continue to burn across France and Spain, overwhelming emergency services and forcing thousands to flee.

In Spain, firefighters were battling to contain major blazes near Madrid on Saturday, but officials warned that strong and unpredictable winds could cause the fires to spread further.

Carlos Novillo, head of emergency management for the Madrid regional government, said the wildfire threatening the capital had reached its most critical stage.

“The fire is at its peak and is currently beyond the capacity of firefighters to contain,” Novillo said.

According to Spain’s Interior Ministry, the fires have scorched nearly 10,000 hectares (about 25,000 acres) in the Madrid region and an additional 13,000 to 15,000 hectares in the neighboring province of Ávila.

Combined, the burned area is more than twice the size of Paris.

Authorities said two separate wildfires merged on Friday into a single massive blaze, raising concerns that it could also join another large fire burning in the neighboring Castilla y León region.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was scheduled to visit the village of Cenicientos, one of the communities hardest hit by the fires, to attend an emergency coordination meeting and receive updates on firefighting operations.

Meanwhile, in France, thousands of residents were evacuated from suburbs surrounding the southwestern city of Bordeaux as firefighters struggled to contain rapidly spreading wildfires.

Officials said the fires showed no signs of easing despite ongoing efforts by emergency crews.

Sophie Brocas, the senior government official overseeing the Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Gironde regions, said evacuation orders had been issued for the communities of Le Haillan, Eysines and Mérignac to protect residents from the advancing flames.

Emergency services in both countries remain on high alert as hot, dry conditions and shifting winds continue to fuel the fires, raising concerns that the destruction could spread further in the coming days.

The wildfires are among the latest in a series of extreme weather events affecting southern Europe, where prolonged heat and drought have significantly increased the risk of large and destructive blazes.