France says wildfire that forced 220,000 people to flee has stopped growing

Interior minister Laurent Nunez said the fire had stopped growing, a first glimmer of hope since the inferno forced 220,000 people to flee in the region around the city of Bordeaux. An emergency meeting has been held (Emma Da Silva/AP) (Emma Da Silva/AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)“It hasn’t progressed during the night,” Mr Nunez said. A fire engine drives through smoke of a wildfire raging near Marcheprime, outside Bordeaux, France (Emma Da Silva/AP) (Emma Da Silva/AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)All told, fires in both countries have forced more than 330,000 people to flee. In Spain, wildfires have burned out of control around Madrid and in the Valencia region. Massive swathes of southern France have been affected (Emma Da Silva/AP) (Emma Da Silva/AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)A fire raging in hilly, rural terrain in Avila, west of Madrid, has become Spain’s largest on record, scorching 50,000 hectares (193 square miles), the government says.