France, Spain wildfires force 87,000 out as Europe sends help

Arcachon,UPDATED: Jul 24, 2026 21:00 IST

Large forest fires burned out of control in southwestern France and central Spain on Friday, forcing an estimated 87,000 people to leave their homes. Some people fled by boat after flames swept through the tourist destination of Cap Ferret on France's Atlantic coast, while dozens of firefighters were injured.

The fires remained uncontained as strong winds and extreme heat complicated efforts to control them. France and Spain sought help from fellow European Union members, while Spain declared a national emergency over wildfires for the first time. In Italy, wildfires also continued to hit parts of Sicily.

In France, a fire that has raged since Wednesday near Cap Ferret had burned through 125 square kilometres by Friday. The peninsula, about 60 kilometres from Bordeaux, is known for its beaches, landscapes, oyster-farming villages and resorts. More than 20,000 people had already been evacuated from towns and holiday resorts on Thursday, and further evacuations followed on Friday. Around 67,000 people left the affected areas in France, including 44,000 in Gironde and 23,000 in Landes. The latest evacuations were carried out by road, with boat shuttles arranged for those who could not travel on their own. Local authorities in Gironde said 53 homes and a campsite were destroyed, and 42 firefighters were injured. Around 1,500 people who fled the peninsula reached Arcachon by sea, some in small water taxis and others in larger boats. Laurent Moretti, a resident of Ars, said, "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."

Hundreds of French firefighters were deployed, and more ground and air support was sent on Friday. A separate wildfire further south along the coast burned 25 square kilometres and also remained uncontained. Authorities said strong winds were hampering firefighting work and believed both fires were caused accidentally. French President Emmanuel Macron said France would receive EU support, including two Croatian Canadair firefighting aircraft, two Portuguese Air Tractor aircraft, and two heavy-lift Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said Italy and Greece were each sending two Canadair water-dumping aeroplanes.

In Spain, the government declared a national emergency for wildfires as blazes in Madrid and nearby Avila led to the evacuation of about 20,000 people. Temperatures were expected to rise above 39 degrees Celsius in parts of the country. Two major fires west of Madrid merged into one blaze and had burned 30 square kilometres by Friday afternoon. Madrid regional president Isabel Diaz-Ayuso called it "the worst in Madrid's history". The regional government said about 18,000 people had been evacuated from towns and villages west of the capital. In Avila, less than two hours northwest of Madrid, another fire burned through 90 square kilometres, forcing 1,500 more people to leave.

Francisco Martinez, the mayor of Burgohondo in Avila, told TVE, "In my 60 years, I have never seen something like this in my village, I have never seen fire of these dimensions." Spanish television showed footage taken by residents as walls of flames and long plumes of smoke moved through woods and scrubland. High winds and hilly terrain made firefighting more difficult as crews used fire engines and bulldozers. Joaquin Espinosa, 33, told The Associated Press before he and his neighbours were evacuated from Chapineria, west of Madrid, "All around the town was smoke and fire. I was scared. Everything was fire and smoke, people were nervous."

Spain has recorded its worst fires on record in a single week in both Castilla-La Mancha and Madrid. Firefighters were still trying to control Spain's second-largest ever fire in Guadalajara province, in Castilla-La Mancha, after it destroyed about 320 square kilometres over the past week. Earlier this month, 13 people were killed in a fire in southern Spain, the country's deadliest in recent memory. Spanish Minister for the Ecological Transition Sara Aagesen said 1,140 square kilometres had already burned in Spain this year, more than five times the area burned in the first half of 2025. Nine other major fires were active across the country on Friday. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called on Wednesday for a pact between political parties to fight climate change, which he said was key to adapting to a more fire-prone climate. Wildfire analyst Raul Quilez said that, along with climate change, the abandonment of farmland in rural areas had removed buffer zones around villages, allowing trees and undergrowth to reach homes. "That makes a perfect cocktail for this type of fire," Quilez told the AP by phone from Valencia.

In Italy, wildfires continued to ravage parts of Sicily, with Agrigento among the worst-hit areas. Fuelled by temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, low humidity and winds, the fires caused scattered evacuations and were blamed for the death of a firefighter responding to a blaze in Caltanissetta. Globally, 2025 was the third-hottest year on record, bringing severe heatwaves across Europe. Scientists have warned that climate change is worsening heat and dryness, especially in southeastern Europe, making the region more vulnerable to health risks and wildfires. Across France, Spain and Italy, the fires stretched emergency services, displaced tens of thousands of people and kept several blazes active despite reinforcements and international assistance.

With PTI Inputs

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