As dry, windy weather fueled a big wildfire near a city in central Oregon, a fourth firefighter died after he and several colleagues last month were overcome by a fast-moving wildfire near the Colorado-Utah border, authorities said Saturday.

Nathan Matthews, 43, of Lincoln, Nebraska, died Friday, the federal Interior Department said in a statement. Meanwhile, several fierce wildfires in a summer of big ones continued burning across the western US.

One of the worst – and the one deemed top priority for firefighting efforts – was just a few miles (5km) north of Sisters, a central Oregon city of about 3,000 people.

A wildfire spread in Haddada municipality in Algeria’s northeastern Souk Ahras province on Saturday, as firefighters responded to the blaze.

Footage released by Algeria’s Civil Protection showed firefighters battling flames in a forested area as smoke rose above the wildfire.

Winds in Spain with gusts of up ​to 60kmph (38mph) are complicating the fight ‌against out-of-control wildfires west of Madrid.

Two separate wildfires in the Madrid region ​combined on Friday and became one ​huge blaze, but so far they have ⁠not merged with another in Avila, in ​the neighbouring Castilla y Leon region.

The fires have ​so far forced more than 30,000 people to flee their homes in the Madrid region and more ​than 20,000 to be confined at home, ​the ministry said on Saturday, in what officials have ‌called ⁠the region’s worst fire on record.

Overnight weather conditions had helped the firefighters.

“The change in weather conditions (less wind, higher humidity, and lower temperature) ​has greatly ​benefited the ⁠fight against the forest fires, which have advanced little and decreased ​in intensity,” the central government in ​Madrid ⁠said on Saturday morning.

Plumes of thick smoke could be seen in the sky west of ⁠the ​capital. More than 9,000 hectares ​have burned in the wildfires in the Madrid region, authorities ​said.

Sunday’s grand finale of the Tour de France, ending in Paris, will be ​shortened due to the impact of ‌security forces being redeployed to battle wildfires near Bordeaux, organisers and police said.

The Tour’s final leg – Stage ​21 when cyclists enter Paris and do ​laps around the Champs Elysees – will be ⁠shortened to 89km instead of the ​133km originally planned.

“As numerous wildfires are currently ​affecting France, particularly the Gironde region, emergency services are fully mobilised to combat the blazes, while internal security ​forces are working to secure the affected ​areas and protect the population,” the Paris police and the ‌event’s ⁠organisers said in a joint statement.

“In light of this, the Interior Ministry has decided to redeploy a portion of the internal security forces ​initially mobilised ​to ensure ⁠security for the final stage of the Tour de France, in ​order to reinforce the response efforts ​in ⁠the areas affected by the wildfires.”

Authorities in France evacuated some suburbs of Bordeaux on Saturday as a massive wildfire shifted toward the city famous for its wines.

The prefect of the Gironde region that includes Bordeaux ordered the evacuation in the early hours of Saturday, covering parts of three of the city’s western suburbs, including its airport.

A British restaurant owner in Bordeaux said the city is “full of smoke and ash” and residents are wearing masks if they go outside.

Lance Attwood, 58, who owns Sweeney Todd’s in Bordeaux city centre, told the Press Association: “It’s not really conducive to coming out.

“The town is full of smoke and ash, so there’s a big drop in business, people are just walking around town in masks.

“Our biggest concern is people’s safety and the safety of the emergency services.”

Mr Attwood, who has lived in Bordeaux for 25 years, said it was “too soon” for friends who had been evacuated to want to talk to the media about their experiences, with their focus instead on recovering sentimental belongings and finding alternative living arrangements.

He encouraged people to donate dry food with a long shelf-life to local charities to help those affected.