Faced with the devastating wildfires affecting several areas of France and Spain, Order of Malta rescuers and volunteers have been deployed to provide relief, shelter and psychological support to the evacuated populations.

In France, wildfires in the Gironde and Landes departments have forced hundreds of people to evacuate their houses, necessitating rapid intervention.

In Gironde, at the request of the authorities, the Order of Malta Departmental Intervention Units have set up and managed various Emergency Reception Centres, including one in the Bordeaux Exhibition Centre which provides shelter for over 5,000 people. In addition to distributing basic necessities such as food, water, blankets and hygiene kits, the teams offer psychological support, evacuate the elderly and people with reduced mobility to hospitals and provide administrative assistance, using the Sainte-Fleur care centre in Bordeaux as a logistics base for operators.

In the nearby Landes department, the Order is managing five emergency centres completely independently, setting up hundreds of field beds with the help of SAMU 33 and healthcare personnel. Overall, some fifty rescuers from over fifteen departmental units take turns there every day.

In Spain, too, the alert remains high due to the fires threatening the Madrid region. The proximity of the fire made it necessary to evacuate the guests of the Order of Malta residence in Aldea del Fresno. Thanks to the promptness of the rescuers, all the elderly people were saved and, albeit the surrounding vegetation was devastated by the flames, the main structure did not suffer any damage. The Order’s Spanish Association expressed profound gratitude to firefighters, police and volunteers for their tireless work in containing the flames and for their commitment to protecting the community.