DEADLY wildfires are sweeping across Spain and France with hotels and popular beach bars being immediately evacuated.

A huge forest fire near a beach resort in southern Spain has created chaos, being described by officials as the fastest-spreading fire they’ve ever witnessed.

Hundreds of people are said to have rushed for cover in a shelter in Algeciras as the fires started to approach residential areas.

Locals and tourists were evacuated from hotels and homes as the flames were fanned towards a beach bar in Tarifa and nearby campsites.

Terrifying footage shows people staring up at as the flames from a beach as the sky turns black with smoke.

The fires have also been fast approaching the N-340 highway and the Estrecho Natural Park.

A team of up to 17 aircraft were deployed to battle the blazes which first erupted on Sunday.

Firefighters were still working to extinguish the fires as of today.

Over in southern France, the wildfires proved fatal as a woman, 65, died in the village of Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse.

Two others have been injured with one still in critical condition with severe burns, according to the Aude prefecture.

Firefighters battled to control the massive flames that had already swept through over 13,000 hectares of land.

At least 25 houses have burned down with dozens of roads in the area being closed down.

The blaze is believed to have been sparked by a discarded cigarette butt.

Firefighter spokesperson Eric Brocardi informed RTL radio that the fire was advancing at a shocking speed of 3.4 mph, calling it “a disaster of an unprecedented scale.”

Officials have spent much of the summer battling with wildfires in France with over 9,000 reported along the Mediterranean coast.

Local resident Aude Damesin from Fabrezan has seen the destruction firsthand: “People are losing everything. It’s heartbreaking to witness so many fires since the summer started.”

Countless dangerous and deadly fires have plagued Europe in recent weeks with dozens of holiday hotspots left ravaged.

Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Italy and Bulgaria are all still reeling from the deadly fires crashing along the Mediterranean.

The most deadly of the European fires have come from Turkey.

So far, at least 17 lives have been lost due to these catastrophic fires, as extreme 50C temperatures and strong winds continue to cause widespread devastation across the eastern Mediterranean.

The infernos have forced more than 3,500 residents to flee their homes, with vast swathes of forest reduced to ash.

Over in the US, California has again been facing wildfires this week.

About 72,000 acres has burnt in just four days, with only three per cent of the fires put out, despite the efforts of 1,000 firefighters.

This year, thousands of fires have destroyed more than a million acres in California.

The Pacific Palisades, a haven for A-Lister types, was hit by horrific infernos which quickly spread across Eaton, Hurst, Lidia, and Woodley.