LEGE-CAP FERRET, France (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron called a crisis meeting Monday focusing on monster, uncontrolled wildfires that have forced more than 250,000 people to flee their homes, amid a first glimmer of hope that the spread of the largest blaze may have slowed.
In the Gironde region of southwest France, where flames have burned an area four times the size of Paris, the prefecture said the situation overnight had remained “globally stable" — a change from successive days where the giant blaze raging since last week had edged closer to the wine region city of Bordeaux.
Click to Gallery
A firefighter gestures next to burning trees as a wildfire rages near Marcheprime, outside, Bordeaux, France, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Firefighters battle a wildfire near Marcheprime, outside, Bordeaux, France, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Firefighters battle a wildfire near Marcheprime, outside, Bordeaux, France, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
A woman caresses her pet dog at an emergency shelter set up in the Bordeaux Exhibition Centre in Bordeaux, France, for those that had to leave their homes outside town due to the raging wildfires, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Caroline Blumberg)
A fire engine drives through smoke of a wildfire raging near Marcheprime, outside, Bordeaux, France, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
No new evacuations were announced. But with France about to enter its peak August tourist season, Gironde authorities took more steps to keep vacationers away, banning holiday camps for children and for people with disabilities.
On the ground and in the air, with water- and retardant-dropping aircraft, the massive firefighting effort was engaged in a race against time, battling to make progress before a forecast surge in temperatures from Tuesday that could make fighting flames more difficult.
The government crisis meeting was scheduled for Monday morning, with Macron presiding. In a weekend post on X, he pledged long-term support for fire-hit communities, saying: “We will rebuild, we will repair and we will be present for as long as necessary.”
In Spain, wildfires have burned out of control around Madrid. Fire evacuations were also carried out Sunday in the Valencia region.
A total of 76,000 people have been evacuated in Spain while 30,000 others have been confined to their homes, the government said.
Evacuees fretted about what they’ll find when they’re allowed to return.
“It looked like the apocalypse. You couldn’t see anything. Everything was covered in ash,” said Rocío Domínguez, who evacuated with her dog, Simba, from Chapinería, west of Madrid.
“We don’t know when we get to the town, if we’ll have half the house burned down or we’ll have it intact or we won’t have a house,” she said. “All the clothes, all the memories, everything.”
A firefighter gestures next to burning trees as a wildfire rages near Marcheprime, outside, Bordeaux, France, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Firefighters battle a wildfire near Marcheprime, outside, Bordeaux, France, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Firefighters battle a wildfire near Marcheprime, outside, Bordeaux, France, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
A woman caresses her pet dog at an emergency shelter set up in the Bordeaux Exhibition Centre in Bordeaux, France, for those that had to leave their homes outside town due to the raging wildfires, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Caroline Blumberg)
A fire engine drives through smoke of a wildfire raging near Marcheprime, outside, Bordeaux, France, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
SEATTLE (AP) — One suspect was arrested and police are searching for another following a shooting Sunday evening at a crowded Seattle food festival that killed three people and wounded four others.
Investigators believe the two were shooting at each other and there is no ongoing threat to the public, according to Assistant Seattle Police Chief Tyrone Davis, who said police don't have a description of the outstanding suspect.
“We’re still trying to figure this out,” Davis said.
Two people died at the scene and a third died at a hospital. Four others were wounded and are hospitalized in stable condition, Davis said.
The gunfire erupted around 6 p.m. in the waning hours of the Bite of Seattle, an annual festival that draws hundreds of food and retail vendors and performers.
A 2-year-old boy was among the wounded and the rest were adults, said Grace Nuñez, spokesperson for the Seattle Fire Department.
Hospital spokesperson Susan Gregg said the victims suffered injuries to the arm, abdomen or legs.
A large number of police and emergency crews responded and began evacuating the area around the sprawling Seattle Center events campus. Authorities have not said where exactly the shooting occurred at the event, which had outdoor and indoor areas.
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said he was receiving briefings and State Patrol SWAT officers were deployed to assist local police.
“My prayers are with the families of the victims, and the responders as they work to keep people safe,” Ferguson said in a statement.
Faith Adia Hunter said she and her friends had just gotten food from a crepe vendor when gunfire broke out. She realized a shooter was near them.
“We were right next to him when it started so we took off running,” Hunter said. “So we took off running too into the building with the crowd.”
She and others found shelter in the nearby Seattle Children’s Museum, Hunter said.
In the chaos of the shooting, many vendors bolted toward the exits, abandoning their food stands. Hours afterward, some milled outside the police tape, wondering when they would be allowed to return to collect their tents, food and cooking gear.
Roberto Ramirez, a vendor at the event, said he heard what sounded like firecrackers before people began yelling “shooter” and frantically running.
“Suddenly everything was empty,” he said. “People were freaked out.”
After the initial panic, new guests continued to arrive unaware of what had happened and were told by police to leave, he said.
Estan Wakonabo said he and his girlfriend were at the festival waiting in line for a photo booth when he was shoved from behind and he turned to see a rush of people fleeing.
“People were hiding, were pushing, people were falling on the ground, baby strollers were falling,” Wakonabo said, adding that was when he heard gunshots.
“Once I heard a ‘pop, pop, pop,’ that’s when I knew it was a shooter,” he said.
After he escorted his girlfriend to safety, he returned to the scene to make photos and saw multiple victims on the ground, Wakonabo said.
The annual festival started in 1982 and draws 350,000 attendees over “three days of food, drink, and community celebration,” according to its website.
Associated Press journalists Manuel Valdes and Lindsey Wasson in Seattle, Annika Wolters in Bangkok and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
An unidentified man is led into the scene by police after they responded to a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A police officer stands at a closed off area after a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Police respond to a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Police respond to a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A police officer responds after a shooting at Seattle Center during the Bite of Seattle food festival Sunday, July 26, 2026, in Seattle, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
