Around 267,000 people have been evacuated from areas hit by wildfires in France and Spain, the authorities in both countries confirmed. Two hundred and sixty-seven thousand - that is more than the populations of Bitola, Prilep, Kumanovo and Tetovo combined, driven out of their homes in a matter of days.

The French government said 197,000 people have been evacuated because of forest fires near Bordeaux, in the country's southwest. French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said 167,000 people were evacuated in the Gironde department alone, with the fire front just 30 kilometres from Bordeaux. More than 600 firefighters are working on the blazes in the southwest.

Spain declared a state of emergency - the first time over fires

The Spanish Interior Ministry said a total of 70,000 people have been evacuated from villages west of Madrid. For the first time in its history, Spain has declared a national state of emergency over forest fires, and the Madrid regional authorities warned that the fire could exceed existing firefighting capacity.

Madrid's regional president, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, called it the worst forest fire in the region's history. Regional environment minister Carlos Novillo said the situation had reached a "critical moment" and that protecting the population is the priority. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the government has deployed every available resource.

The help is coming from the east - including from the neighbourhood

French President Emmanuel Macron said the EU civil protection mechanism has been activated and announced incoming assistance from Croatia, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Spanish authorities requested help through the same mechanism.

That detail is worth pausing on. When the West burns, the aircraft and the crews set off from Zagreb. When the Balkans burn, the mechanism exists too - but how many times have we watched the help arrive after whatever needed saving had already burned? The difference is rarely in the agreement on paper. The difference is in how quickly somebody picks up the phone.

One arrest, and one very old motive

The Spanish Civil Guard said one person has been arrested and another is under investigation on suspicion that, despite a ban on the use of heavy machinery, they caused sparks that could have started one of the fires in the province of Avila. So - the ban existed. And so did somebody who reckoned the ban did not apply to him.

That is the story that repeats every summer under different flags: the rules exist on paper, and the inspection arrives once the smoke goes up. Both countries are facing unprecedented fires spreading uncontrollably despite the efforts of hundreds of firefighters backed by water bombers. And while Europe burns from Bordeaux to Madrid, the question for our side of the continent is not whether it will burn, but who will answer for it when it does.