25, July 2026
More than 200,000 people have been displaced across southwestern France and central Spain after large wildfires tore through forests and communities.
The blazes triggered mass evacuations and stretched emergency services as they battled to contain flames driven by extreme heat.
In France, authorities said about 141,000 people were evacuated from the Gironde and Landes departments.
In Spain, another 60,000 residents were forced to leave their homes in central regions as fires advanced quickly through woodlands and nearby towns.
The evacuations were carried out under heavy smoke and difficult conditions.
Firefighters in both countries struggled with the speed and intensity of the fires. Officials linked the severity to high temperatures and the long-term effects of climate change. Spanish fire services said the flames spread with such force that direct firefighting was not possible in some areas.
In France, some residents escaped by sea after fire reached tourist areas along the Atlantic coast.
Police moved door to door urging evacuations as cars lined roads out of affected communities.
Despite the scale of the disaster, authorities reported no fatalities, though dozens of firefighters were injured.
France’s Interior Minister, Laurent Nunez, said the main fire in southwestern France had burned about 140 square kilometres and was shifting direction toward Bordeaux. He described it as a large, self-sustaining blaze that had become extremely difficult to control after a change in wind.
He added that response efforts were being reorganized to prevent the fire from reaching the Bordeaux metropolitan area.
French President Emmanuel Macron instructed Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu to activate the government’s crisis response unit. He also ordered the armed forces to provide maximum support to civilian emergency teams. The government pledged additional national reinforcements to assist firefighting operations.
Sophie Brocas, the prefect of Nouvelle Aquitaine, said the fire in Gironde had reached an unprecedented scale after burning for three days.
She said significant reinforcements were on the way to help combat it.
The fire began on Wednesday near the Cap Ferret peninsula, roughly 60 kilometres from Bordeaux.
Local officials said 53 homes and a campsite were destroyed in the affected French areas, and 42 firefighters were injured. About 1,500 people were evacuated by water taxis and boats to the city of Arcachon. Resident Laurent Moretti described the evacuation as frightening and unprecedented, and expressed hope that firefighters could bring the blaze under control soon. Arisetv
