Wildfires across Spain and southern Europe force thousands to evacuate amid heatwave

France, Spain and Greece battled major wildfires on Thursday as soaring temperatures, parched vegetation and powerful winds extended a summer of deadly fires, mass evacuations and mounting disruption across Europe. France arrested two people on suspicion of arson as crews contained a vast fire near Bordeaux, Spain fought a blaze in the eastern province of […]

Crews are battling to control wildfires that have spread rapidly across parts of Europe, forcing the evacuation of more than 330,000 people in France, Spain and Portugal. Fifteen deaths have been reported and nearly half a million acres have burned. The scope and speed of the fires are pushing emergency response systems to their limits. Amna Nawaz discussed more with Ciaran Nugent.

Firefighters raced on Tuesday to subdue huge wildfires that have forced unprecedented evacuations of tens of thousands of people across France and Spain, as western Europe braced for another heatwave. The fires have torn through a region already battered by a blisteringly hot and dry summer. Crews were seeking to capitalise on more favourable weather before a new wave of higher temperatures settled in from Wednesday. In the Bordeaux region of France, firefighters contained the forest blaze overnight, while in Spain, authorities allowed people from nine out of 11 towns in the central Toledo province to return to their homes. However, fires still raged out of control in Madrid and nearby provinces, prompting heightened vigilance. One Spanish evacuee described a “red hell” of fire, portraying intense scenes as residents fled with little more than clothes on their backs. Europe, the world’s fastest warming continent, has endured record-breaking heatwaves this year. Scientists say human-driven climate change is intensifying the heat and drought that allow wildfires to spread faster, burn longer and become more destructive. “The situation we are dealing with today is the most severe we have ever recorded, the toughest since the Second World War,” said French President Emmanuel Macron. “We are facing a completely unprecedented wildfire,” he told emergency workers in Bordeaux late on Monday. Wildfires in France have now burned more area than at the same time in any year since 2006. View this post on Instagram Bracing for new heatwave Despite progress in the firefighting effort, the situation remained difficult, said Nathalie Delattre, senator for Gironde, which covers the city of Bordeaux. “Everything will depend on how the firefighters on the ground get on,” she told BFM TV on Tuesday. Campsites and tourist residences at Lacanau, by the Atlantic coast near Bordeaux, were being evacuated on Tuesday, the Lacanau local administration said on its Facebook page. Spain is bracing for its fourth heatwave of the summer from Wednesday, with the risk of fire expected to reach extreme levels due to high temperatures, southerly winds and low humidity. Firefighters are still battling fires in the region of Madrid and neighbouring provinces of Avila and Toledo. Conditions during the night in Madrid enabled active fire fronts to be tackled effectively, helping to reduce the threat, though the fires are not yet under control, the Spanish government said. As of Tuesday, Spain had more than 73,000 evacuees and roughly 66,000 people under confinement. According to the Reuters Climate Monitor, temperatures in Bordeaux were forecast to hit 33 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, 7.1℃ higher than the daily average in 1961 to 1990, while the Madrid region’s 37℃ would be 5.5℃ above average. This week’s heatwave is expected to build quickly and peak on Wednesday. Screengrab from Reuters Climate Monitor showing the Bordeaux region. Meteo France also expected the heat to peak on Wednesday, when temperatures in Paris could hit 38℃, but added that the duration of the heatwave “will be determined in the coming days”. The UK Met Office said it was forecasting “an increasingly warm, but relatively short-lived, spell of hot weather”. More frequent and intense heatwaves are causing thousands of excess deaths and increasingly disrupting everyday life from snarling road and rail travel to hindering cargo shipping because of low river levels on Europe’s waterways. It is also having an impact on crop yields; monitoring service MARS on Monday cut all of its 2026 harvest forecasts. Residents describe ‘red hell’ For those caught in the fire’s path, escape often came down to grabbing relatives and pets, and leaving everything else behind. @nytimes As the wildfires in France force hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate, some locals have taken the risk to fight the wildfires instead of evacuating. #france #wildfires ♬ original sound - The New York Times - The New York Times Sitting on a camp bed at a French evacuation centre and stroking her cat, consultant Sylvie Michel, 63, praised authorities for providing her and her pets with everything they need. “In France we tend to be very critically-minded, to put it mildly. And honestly, hats off to everyone involved,” she said. Spanish evacuee Jose Miguel Encinas, 53, in La Vall d’Uixo in eastern Spain, recalled scenes of “total chaos”. “It was like in the movies where hell cracked the ground open, and you see the red hell.”

Hot, arid weather and strong winds have continued to fuel wildfires in France, Spain and Italy, devastating huge swaths of land and forcing mass evacuations. As national emergencies are declared, the danger remains.

Spain declared a national emergency on Friday after wildfires forced the evacuation of around 20,000 people from villages near Madrid, while more than 60,000 residents were displaced by major blazes in southwestern France.“We are experiencing a dramatic situation, not just in several Spanish regions but also in neighbouring countries,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote on X.“My solidarity with all the people who have been affected and forced to leave their homes.”France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said 40,000 people had been evacuated from the Gironde department and another 23,000 from Landes as authorities ordered more evacuations along the Atlantic coast.Both Spain and France sought assistance from fellow European Union countries.“We will soon be able to rely on reinforcements including two Croatian Canadair firefighting aircraft, two Portuguese Air Tractor aircraft, and two heavy-lift Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia,” French President Emmanuel Macron said.Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said Italy and Greece were each sending two Canadair water-dumping aircraft.Southern Europe has witnessed several major wildfires this summer. According to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, Europe is the fastest-warming continent, with temperatures rising twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s. Scientists say climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of heat and dry conditions, making the region more prone to wildfires.SHOCKING | Spain has declared its first-ever national wildfire emergency as massive blazes continue to spread across Europe, forcing more than 10,000 people to evacuate. The fires have been fueled by extreme heat, dry conditions, and strong winds pic.twitter.com/HQDIvB0oGi— The Tatva (@thetatvaindia) July 24, 2026Spain declares national emergency amid multiple firesSpain’s national emergency places the Interior Ministry in charge of coordinating firefighting operations as regional authorities battle multiple blazes intensified by a severe heatwave. A separate large wildfire in the central province of Ávila also required national intervention.“All around the town was smoke and fire; I was scared. Everything was fire and smoke, people were nervous,” 33-year-old Joaquin Espinosa told The Associated Press before he and his neighbours were evacuated from Chapinería, west of Madrid.The Madrid regional government said around 18,000 people were evacuated from towns and villages west of the capital after multiple fires spread out of control late on Thursday.“In my 60 years I have never seen something like this in my village; I have never seen fire of these dimensions,” Francisco Martínez, the mayor of Burgohondo in Ávila, told Spain’s national broadcaster TVE.Spain’s military emergency units, national firefighting brigades and water-dumping aircraft have joined regional crews to combat the fires. Ecological Transition Minister Sara Aagesen said about 1,140 sq km (440 sq miles) had already burned in Spain this year, more than five times the area destroyed during the same period in 2025.Grande-Marlaska said, besides the major fires near Madrid and in Ávila, authorities were dealing with nine other serious wildfires across the country. Devastating #wildfires are sweeping across Spain & France as a brutal heatwave, drought & strong winds fuel the flames#Spain evacuated 10k+ people as fires burned nearly 125k hectares this year#France ordered evacuations of up to 18,800 people near #ArcachonBay#Europe https://t.co/o0WoizSR6o pic.twitter.com/csLem7s1UO— GlobeUpdate (@Globupdate) July 24, 2026 Temperatures were forecast to exceed 39C in parts of Spain on Friday, with highs of 44C expected in Almeria. Strong winds and rugged terrain continued to hamper firefighting efforts.Spain has also witnessed its second-largest recorded wildfire this year, which burned around 320 sq km in Guadalajara province. Earlier this month, 13 people died in a wildfire in southern Spain, the country's deadliest in recent memory.Sánchez on Wednesday called for a political pact to tackle climate change, saying it was essential to adapting to increasingly fire-prone conditions. Authorities have not yet identified the cause of the fires near Madrid.Also Watch:France battles major coastal blazesIn France, a wildfire that has been burning since Wednesday near the Cap Ferret peninsula has scorched around 100 sq km.Located about 60 km from Bordeaux, the peninsula is known for its beaches, oyster-farming villages and resorts.More than 20,000 people had already been evacuated on Thursday, with further evacuations carried out by road and boat as the fires spread. Hundreds of firefighters, backed by additional ground and aerial resources, continued efforts to contain the blaze.Another major wildfire further south near Biscarrosse and Parentis-en-Born remained out of control as strong winds complicated firefighting operations.India Boosts Fertiliser Supply With Urea, DAP Imports Amid Global DisruptionsItaly also hit as Europe faces worsening fire riskWildfires also continued to burn across parts of Sicily, with Agrigento province among the worst affected.Italy’s national fire department said it had carried out more than 1,400 firefighting operations since last weekend, including 240 in the Agrigento area. By Friday, seven of Sicily’s nine provinces remained under the highest wildfire alert, with only Messina and Catania at a lower risk level.Driven by temperatures above 40C, low humidity and strong winds, the fires prompted scattered evacuations and claimed the life of a firefighter responding to a blaze in Caltanissetta.Globally, 2025 was the third-hottest year on record, bringing severe heatwaves across Europe. Scientists warn that climate change is worsening heat and drought conditions, particularly in southeastern Europe, increasing the risk of wildfires and their impact on public health.

Thousands of people were forced to flee deadly wildfires that continued to sweep through parts of France, Spain and Italy on Friday. Hundreds of firefighters backed by water-bombing planes battled the blazes fanned by scorching temperatures and strong winds. Follow our liveblog for the latest developments.