Firefighters battled massive wildfires across France and Spain on Tuesday as tens of thousands of residents were forced to evacuate in one of the largest emergency responses in recent years. The blazes swept through areas already scorched by an exceptionally hot and dry summer.
Emergency crews worked to contain the fires while weather conditions remained relatively favourable, racing to bring the flames under control before another intense heatwave is forecast to hit Western Europe 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.
Wildfires in France have now burned more area than at the same time in any year since 2006.
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 (91.4 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday, 7.1 C higher than the daily average in 1961 to 1990, while the Madrid region’s 37 C would be 5.5 C above average.
This week’s heatwave is expected to build quickly and peak on Wednesday.
Meteo France also expected the heat to peak on Wednesday, when temperatures in Paris could hit 38 C, but added that the duration of the heatwave “will be determined in the coming days”.
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.
(With inputs from Reuters)
