Thousands of people have been evacuated across Spain and France as unprecedented forest fires driven by severe heatwaves and drought spin out of control. National emergencies have been declared in Spain, where blazes near Madrid are deemed beyond firefighting capacity, while French authorities deploy the military to protect Bordeaux.
An escalating wildfire crisis across southwestern France and central Spain has forced massive evacuations, bringing unprecedented disruption to the region. Thousands of residents and tourists have fled their homes as tinder-dry forests ignite under consecutive heatwaves and high winds.
The European Union has activated emergency assistance protocols, dispatching aerial firefighting reinforcements as both nations grapple with fire conditions that local officials describe as overwhelming.
National Emergency Declared as Madrid Fires Merge
In Spain, the government declared a national emergency after multiple blazes raged out of control. Three separate fires burning west of the capital merged into a single massive front, charring 30 square kilometres and forcing the evacuation of 18,000 people.
Madrid’s regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso described the situation as the worst fire in the history of the region. The Interior Ministry assumed direct coordination of all firefighting resources, deploying the Military Emergency Unit to the ground.
Carlos Novillo, Madrid regional government’s emergency management chief, stated that the wildfire was at its peak and was currently beyond the capacity of firefighters to contain.
Carlos Novillo told reporters that defensive measures are being taken because attacking the fire directly in certain areas is no longer possible. Fires continued pushing toward the municipalities of Robledo de Chavela and Fresnedillas de la Olivia, roughly 50 kilometers west of the capital.
Mass Evacuations Along the Atlantic Coast and Bordeaux Threat
Across the border in southwestern France, the crisis intensified as fires reached the outskirts of Bordeaux. French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez stated that the country has 32 active wildfires, with over 50,000 hectares burned since January—nearly triple last year’s total.
In the Gironde department, 44,000 people fled the tourist peninsula of Cap Ferret. With roads threatened by advancing flames, boats moved hundreds of people away from the peninsula, while water taxis and ferries transported 1,500 evacuees to Arcachon.
It’s quite impressive and even frightening. An evacuation on this scale has never happened before. All we really hope is that the firefighters can quickly get it under control. Laurent Moretti, resident of Arès
French President Emmanuel Macron mobilized the military, deploying military personnel to assist the worst wildfire the country has ever seen. Authorities also announced the delivery of FFP2 masks to Gironde to protect populations and personnel exposed to heavy smoke.
International Aid and Contributing Climate Factors
Both nations formally requested support through the European Union mechanism. The European Commission arranged aerial firefighting reinforcements, including Canadair water-dumping planes and heavy-lift helicopters from Italy, Greece, Portugal, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Sweden. Experts point to severe environmental pressures behind the disaster. Data from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service shows Europe warming twice as quickly as the global average since the 1980s. With temperatures exceeding 39°C in Spain and drought conditions doubling Spain’s burned area in just two weeks, emergency services remain on maximum alert as firefighting teams battle shifting winds across both countries. Spain’s government declared a national emergency Friday after wildfires forced the evacuation of some 10,000 people in the central region of Madrid, while in southern France more than 60,000 residents fled their homes, including by boat, to escape two major blazes.
We are experiencing a dramatic situation, not just in several Spanish regions but also in neighboring countries. My solidarity with all the people who have been affected and been forced to leave their homes. Pedro Sánchez, Spanish Prime Minister
Authorities in southwestern France ordered more mass evacuations along the Atlantic coast because of the large wildfires. France’s Interior minister Laurent Nunez said 40,000 people have been evacuated in the Gironde department, and 23,000 in the Landes. Spain and France both asked fellow European Union members for help.
Large forest fires continue to burn out of control across south-western France and central Spain, forcing massive evacuations and prompting military intervention in both nations. In France, a massive wildfire has reached the outskirts of Bordeaux, raising the total number of people evacuated across surrounding areas to 110,000. Earlier, tens of thousands of residents already fled as wildfires swept through the tourist peninsula of Cap Ferret on the Atlantic coast. The main blaze, active since Wednesday near Cap Ferret (60 kilometres from Bordeaux), has consumed 125 square kilometres. Around 1,500 people escaped the peninsula by sea, arriving in Arcachon aboard water taxis and ferries. In total, 44,000 people were evacuated in the Gironde department, where 53 homes and a campsite were destroyed and 42 firefighters injured, while 23,000 were evacuated in the neighbouring Landes department due to an uncontained 25-square-kilometre blaze further south.
A French firefighter has died and more tourists have been forced to flee their Spanish villas as a growing wildfire crisis grips southern Europe. The 22-year-old volunteer lost his life while battling a blaze in Savoie, a town in the heart of the Alps, where the raging inferno has so far scorched 800 acres. Southern Europe has been battling a wildfire crisis after a string of heatwaves this summer.
People have been evacuated across Spain and France, according to each country’s latest figures. Local officials report containing wildfires near Madrid is beyond the capacity
of firefighters. Emergency officials across both nations describe a “perfect storm” driven by consecutive heatwaves, low humidity, and unpredictable, changing winds. Carlos Novillo warns fires are moving towards the municipalities of Robledo de Chavela and Fresnedillas de la Oliva—a few dozen kilometers from the Spanish capital’s western outskirts. Madrid’s regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso said this is the worst fire in the history of the region. The government activated an emergency to centralize firefighting efforts under the Interior Ministry as three major fire fronts merged west of Madrid near Robledo de Chavela and Fresnedillas de la Oliva.
People were evacuated in France and Spain as unprecedented forest fires raged near Madrid and Bordeaux. French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday (July 24, 2026) asked the army to mobilise to help contain the worst wildfire the country has ever seen after seeking European Union help, as a local official warned the blaze was heading towards Bordeaux. Some 44,000 people fled the upmarket Cap Ferret peninsula south of Bordeaux on the Atlantic coast, with the only road threatened by flames. Boats moved hundreds of people away from the fires, while others drove off the peninsula, known for its millionaire residences. More than 50 houses there have been destroyed. At least 141,000 people have been evacuated in southwestern France and 25,000 in the Madrid region, among them more than 1,200 elderly and disabled people, French and Spanish officials said. Madrid and Paris have called in EU help as flames whipped up by strong winds and boosted by drought tore through tinder-dry forests. French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said France had never before experienced such conditions.
Juanma Moreno, leader of Spain’s southern Andalusia region, offered his deepest condolences to the families of the six people who lost their lives in Los Gallardos, alongside affection from everyone to the municipalities affected by the fire.
Foreign nationals ignored shelter instructions. One Spaniard was among the victims and the rest appeared to be foreign nationals who ignored instructions to shelter in place, trying instead to flee by car as flames spread rapidly through a wooded area around the town of Los Gallardos.