France orders 4,000 more to evacuate as fires ravage southwestern Europe – National
French authorities ordered nearly 4,000 people to evacuate on Tuesday from tourist resorts on the Atlantic coast as returning heat threatened fragile firefighters at a major blaze west of Bordeaux. The fire that broke out in the Gironde region burned an area four times the size of Paris and forced 220,000 people to evacuate.
Across France and Spain, around 330,000 people were forced from their homes and holiday resorts by the massive fires. Spain is facing its fourth heat wave of the summer, with several wildfires still raging, including the largest in its recorded history.
France may never have seen migration on this scale in peacetime. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said on Saturday that “it is possible” that the biggest migration operation has ever been carried out in the country outside of war.
Firefighters tackled the Gironde fire on a calm night, brought the coastal dunes outbreak under control and kept the burned area at 420 square kilometers (162 square miles).
Authorities have called the fire stable, not contained — it’s still contained, but could continue to grow as temperatures rise and humidity drops.
The exodus does not stop other visitors
The safety order included campsites, holiday resorts, tourist accommodation and leisure parks around the Lacanau resort, Gironde regional authorities said.
“We are at a tipping point,” said Eric Brocardi, spokesman for the French firefighters’ union, told BFMTV on Tuesday. “We will continue to attack this fire despite the rising temperatures.”
Even as houses were set on fire nearby and authorities urged tourists not to travel to avoid the risk of death, one family told Le Parisien newspaper that they had started rather than lose a 4,000-euro vacation, while another group argued against leaving a trip that cost 650 euros each.
A fire that makes its own weather
At its most violent, the flame of the Gironde forms a dark cloud of thunder, electrified and glowing from within. It produced lightning, strong winds and new fires beyond the original – the first such storm ever recorded in France.
The French weather service has placed the Gironde under a yellow heat warning from midday on Tuesday, forecasting average temperatures of 33 to 35 C (91 to 95 F). Southeasterly winds are expected throughout the department, with sea breezes from the west along the coast.
More than 1,160 square kilometers (448 square miles) have burned across France this year, according to the Interior Ministry.
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Europe is the world’s hottest continent, twice as hot as the global average, according to the European Union’s Copernicus weather service. Western Europe recorded its hottest June on record, with extreme heat and widespread dryness contributing to the spread and intensity of fires in France and Spain, Copernicus said.
Emergency services are scrambling to save homes
Firefighters battling the unexpected Gironde blaze are scrambling to save homes. In Le Porge alone, west of Bordeaux, the municipal government said around 150 houses had been destroyed.
Officials warned that smoldering vegetation, rising temperatures and falling humidity could produce new outbreaks near the main fire line.
Army engineers and wildfire prevention workers resumed cutting firefighters early Tuesday. Authorities say 103 kilometers (64 miles) have been completed.
93 firefighters were injured, the district said.
Thousands are returning as the second fire breaks out
In the Landes, about 15,000 refugees – half the total – were allowed to go home after separate wildfires stopped.
“The fire has been fixed, which is good news for the Landes,” French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday evening. Regional authorities said that means its progress has been halted and no new developments have been made.
Those allowed to return include residents of Sanguinet, Parentis-en-Born, the airport village of Biscarrosse and a large camping ground. Several other neighborhoods remained inaccessible.
Authorities warned that the Landes fire was not extinguished. The remaining hot spots, wind and drought could cause the fire to flare up, and patrolling and dousing operations were expected to continue for days or possibly weeks.
Spain is looking at worsening conditions
In Spain, hundreds of firefighters supported by the military’s emergency services and water-dropping aircraft continue to battle several large fires.
Smoke from the fire reached Madrid itself, where residents in central and eastern regions could smell smoke and ash in recent days, emergency services said.
Spain’s Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said on Tuesday that working non-stop through the night had left him “really good,” although officials warned that workers have a short window before extreme heat returns.
Spain’s weather service said the country is bracing for its fourth heat wave of the summer, with temperatures expected to exceed 40 C (104 F) in some areas.
Authorities evacuated about 79,000 people and ordered another 30,000 to stay in their homes. The government has declared a state of emergency across the country in connection with the fire.
At least 13 people have died in wildfires in Spain this year, making 2026 one of the deadliest fire seasons in decades.
“I’ve lived in San Martín de Valdeiglesias for 20 years and I never thought I’d see this,” said Estella Costales, a captive resident living in a temporary shelter in Brunete, near Madrid. “It’s unfortunate, but I never thought I would see such destruction.”
The surrounding areas of Madrid are always at risk
Of greatest concern remained two large fires that at times came close to merging into one fire in the wooded hills about an hour’s drive west of Madrid.
The fire in the hilly, rural area of Ávila, west of Madrid, has become Spain’s largest on record, burning more than 500 square kilometers (193 miles), the government said.
Another fire in the eastern province of Castellon also forced many people to evacuate.
“Look how the village is burning. Look at the houses, people,” said David Gonzalez, a 48-year-old gardener who used his van to deliver firefighters to Ávila.
“We feel angry and helpless. It’s inhumane,” he said.
Fires have burned 1,530 square kilometers (590 square miles) this year in Spain, said Environment Minister Sara Aagesen.
Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, has called for a national agreement to fight wildfires, saying climate change is making them worse.
