France is having a bad week. A further 55,000 people have been evacuated from six towns in the Gironde region south of Bordeaux, as wildfires that have already devastated large swaths of the country continue to pick up pace. The evacuations bring the total number of people displaced across Europe - primarily France and Spain - to over 330,000 in the past week alone.

France has been the worst-affected country, with 42,000 hectares burnt in one of the largest forest fires since World War II. Since the start of the year, about 98,000 hectares have gone up in smoke. Captain Nicolas Braz, a leader of the firefighting operation, noted that the fire has created its own winds, complete with whirlwinds, making it "erratic and unmanageable." Because what the situation needed was more wind.

Dry vegetation and brisk winds are helping the fire spread, forcing the closure of 60 kilometers (37 miles) of the A63 motorway leading to Spain. French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told La Tribune that the fire "will take a long time to bring under control" and that until it is contained, evacuated residents and tourists won't be returning. France has mobilized its military to help clear brush and create fire breaks, because when your fire is making its own weather, you need all hands on deck.

President Emmanuel Macron has promised that France will "rebuild" and that his government will "be there for as long as is needed." Meanwhile, in Spain, fires continue to spread, with over 90,000 evacuated from regions around Madrid and Ávila. Late Saturday, at least eight municipalities near Toledo were ordered to evacuate. Madrid's regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso called it the "worst fire in the history of the region," and Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez admitted there were "complex times ahead." Sunday is expected to bring high temperatures and low humidity, which, as everyone knows, is exactly what a wildfire wants. Authorities in València also confirmed the death of a man in a fire.