Massive Wildfires Spur Record Evacuations Across France and Spain

A fast-moving wildfire in the Gironde department west of Bordeaux reignited near Grand Crohot on the Lège-Cap-Ferret peninsula, prompting authorities to order an additional 4,000 tourists to evacuate from coastal resorts. The fire, described as “very likely” the largest civilian evacuation in France outside of war, forced a total of 220,000 people to leave homes and vacation sites in the region. Simultaneously, separate blazes in Spain’s Ávila province and the Landes area of France continued to threaten communities, with evacuation orders lifted for some towns while others remained under stay-at-home directives.

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Both countries are experiencing an unprecedented heat wave. France’s national weather service issued a yellow heat warning with temperatures forecast at 33-35 °C (91-95 °F). The European Union’s Copernicus climate service notes that Europe is warming at more than twice the global average, and June was the hottest on record for western Europe. The Gironde blaze generated a pyrocumulonimbus cloud—the first recorded in France—producing its own lightning and strong winds, a phenomenon also observed in recent Spanish fires.

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• Gironde fire area: roughly four times the size of Paris, according to the Interior Ministry.

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• Total burned area in France this year: more than 1,160 sq km (448 sq mi).

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• In Spain, fires have scorched 1,530 sq km (590 sq mi) in 2026, including a 500 sq km (193 sq mi) blaze in Ávila, the nation’s largest on record.

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• Evacuations: 220,000 in France; about 79,000 displaced in Spain, with 20,000 returning from ten towns.

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• Injuries: at least 110 French firefighters reported injured.

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• Property loss: approximately 150 homes destroyed in Le Porge, France; numerous structures damaged in Spain’s affected valleys.

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Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez emphasized the unprecedented scale of the French evacuation, while Gironde prefect Sophie Brocas warned that the situation remained “complicated” and that residents should stay alert. French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the fire in Landes had been “fixed,” signaling a pause in its advance. In Spain, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska expressed a “reasonably positive” outlook after night-long firefighting efforts, yet cautioned that extreme heat could reignite hotspots. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called for a national pact to combat wildfires, linking the surge in fire activity to climate change.

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• “We are at a point of fragility,” — Eric Brocardi, spokesperson for France's national firefighters federation

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• “The fire is fixed, which is good news in the Landes," French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday evening.” — French President Emmanuel Macron

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• “I've been living in San Martín de Valdeiglesias for 20 years and I never thought I would see this,” — Estella Costales, an evacuated resident staying at a temporary shelter in Brunete, near Madrid

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• “Look at how the valley is burned. Look at the houses, the people,” — David Gonzalez

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