Wildfires force mass evacuations in France and Spain as fresh heatwave nears

Firefighters in France and Spain were battling major wildfires on Tuesday as western Europe prepared for another spell of extreme heat, with tens of thousands of people displaced and several blazes still not under control.

In Spain, more than 73,000 people had been evacuated and about 66,000 others were under confinement as fires continued in the Madrid region and the neighbouring provinces of Avila and Toledo. Authorities said residents of nine of 11 towns in Toledo province had been allowed to return home, but active fires in Madrid and nearby areas kept officials on alert.

In France, emergency crews made overnight progress near Bordeaux, where firefighters managed to contain a forest blaze before hotter conditions were expected to return from Wednesday. Evacuations continued in Lacanau on the Atlantic coast near Bordeaux, where the local administration said campsites and tourist residences were being cleared.

Heat set to intensify risk

Spain is heading into its fourth heatwave of the summer from Wednesday, with authorities warning that high temperatures, southerly winds and low humidity could push fire danger to extreme levels. The Spanish government said cooler night-time conditions in Madrid had helped crews tackle active fire fronts and reduce the immediate threat, although the fires remained uncontrolled.

Forecasts showed Bordeaux reaching 33 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, 7.1C above the 1961-1990 daily average, while the Madrid region was expected to hit 37C, 5.5C above average. Meteo France said the heat in France could peak on Wednesday, when temperatures in Paris may rise to 38C, though it said the duration of the heatwave would be determined in the coming days. The UK Met Office also forecast an increasingly warm but relatively brief hot spell.

Macron calls fires unprecedented

French President Emmanuel Macron described the crisis in stark terms during a visit to emergency workers in Bordeaux late on Monday. He said, "The situation we are dealing with today is the most severe we have ever recorded, the toughest since the Second World War," and added, "We are facing a completely unprecedented wildfire."

Wildfires in France have now burned more area by this point in the year than in any year since 2006. Europe, the world’s fastest warming continent, has already endured record-breaking heatwaves this year, while scientists say human-driven climate change is worsening the heat and drought conditions that make wildfires spread faster, last longer and become more destructive.

Residents recount hurried escapes

For many residents, the fires meant fleeing with little more than family members and pets. At a French evacuation centre, 63-year-old consultant Sylvie Michel said authorities had provided for both her and her animals, adding, "In France we tend to be very critically-minded, to put it mildly. And honestly, hats off to everyone involved."

In eastern Spain, evacuee Jose Miguel Encinas, 53, described the scene in La Vall d’Uixo as "total chaos". He said, "It was like in the movies where hell cracked the ground open, and you see the red hell."

The wider effects of repeated heatwaves are being felt across Europe, disrupting road and rail travel, hampering cargo shipping because of low river levels and damaging agriculture. The MARS monitoring service on Monday cut all of its 2026 harvest forecasts.