French authorities have ordered the evacuation of the entire Cap Ferret peninsula on the southwest coast, and hundreds of people have escaped from the area in boats.

Tens of thousands of people are being evacuated from the Tourist destination west of Bordeaux, as firefighters continue to battle forest fires ravaging the Gironde region for days.

The fires, which began on Tuesday in Saumos, continued to burn overnight and 8,700 hectares (about 21,500 acres) were consumed by flames.

Meanwhile, Spain’s government has declared a national emergency as wildfires get out of control in several areas near the capital, Madrid.

French Interior Minister Laurent Núñez said 40,000 people had been or were in the process of being evacuated from the peninsula, which has the Atlantic on one side and the Bay of Arcachon on the other.

“In total 80 houses have burned, of which about 50 have been completely destroyed,” he told reporters.

The mayor of Arès, located southeast of Lège-Cap Ferret in Arcachon Bay, said his town was also being evacuated.

Further down the Atlantic coast, around the town of Biscarosse in France’s Landes region, another large fire that started on Thursday afternoon prompted the evacuation of more than 23,000 people.

Some 18,000 people in Biscarrosse and 5,000 in Parentis-en-Born had to leave their homes, campsites, a nursing home and a summer camp.

No further casualties were reported overnight in southwestern France, although two firefighters died on Tuesday while battling a fire near Bordeaux airport.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday evening that the forest fire situation in the country was “very tense,” especially in the Gironde region.

Macron said he had asked the European Union for help and would soon receive support in the form of planes from Croatia, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The prefect of Gironde, Sophie Brocas, ordered the “final phase” of the evacuation of the peninsula on Friday morning.

People were told to leave via the main D106 road towards Bordeaux, while boats were available to others between 07:00 and 10:00 local time (06:00 BST and 09:00 BST) from four piers.

The highway runs along the eastern side of the peninsula and is the only land route out.

Around 20,000 people in the Gironde region were evacuated on Thursday, many of whom were visiting camps on the peninsula.

New evacuations were also carried out from La Porge on Thursday night, which Brocas said proceeded “calmly.”

He added that houses in evacuated areas will be monitored to prevent any vandalism.

“Significant resources” remain on the ground to fight the fire, while additional ground and air reinforcements will be received in the coming hours.

The public has been asked not to go to the affected areas.