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Heatwave tests wildfire hold
Firefighters in France and Spain rushed to contain the worst wildfires in living memory as a fresh heatwave threatened to bring scorching temperatures back across western Europe.
“The spread of wildfires in France and Spain that had come dangerously close to the cities of Bordeaux and Madrid appears to be slowing, authorities say, but they are bracing for yet another stifling heatwave this week, which could fan the flames of current blazes and ignite new ones”
In France’s Gironde, Lieutenant-Colonel Eric Pitault said French firefighters were “on the offensive,” as they cut a 50m-wide, 25km-long firebreak on the Cap Ferret peninsula with civilian volunteers, even as he admitted his teams were tired.
The scale of the crisis in France included the wildfire near Bordeaux affecting 42,000 hectares, forcing 220,000 people to flee, and destroying 240 houses over the past six days, while the prefect’s office said flare-ups overnight in the north of the peninsula were under control.
In Spain, outside Aldea del Fresno on the edge of the vast fires burning west of Madrid, evacuated locals lined up in their cars to hope for a return to properties and pets, but the Guardia Civil blocked their return over smoke inhalation risk.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the fires “the most painful expression of a climate emergency,” while French President Emmanuel Macron said: “The coming weeks will be tough and we have to hold out.”
Evacuations and shifting risk
As returning heat threatened firefighters’ hold on the vast wildfire west of Bordeaux, French authorities ordered nearly 4,000 people evacuated from tourist sites on the Atlantic coast, deepening an emergency across southwestern Europe.
Eric Brocardi, spokesperson for France’s national firefighters federation, told BFMTV, “We are at a point of fragility,” and added, “We will continue attacking this fire despite the forecast rise in temperatures.”
The Gironde fire was described as stabilized, not fixed, with the precautionary evacuation order covering campsites, holiday villages, tourist residences and leisure parks around the resort of Lacanau.
In Spain, CBC reported that firefighters were dealing with several blazes still out of control, including its largest on record, while the Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said Tuesday that nonstop work through the night left him “reasonably positive,” but warned conditions could deteriorate as temperatures rose again.
The Associated Press quoted David Gonzalez, a 48-year-old gardener in Avila, saying, “We are feeling a lot of anger and helplessness. It's something inhuman,” as he described the burned valley and houses.
What’s next across Europe
The next phase of the crisis in Europe hinges on heat and fire alert conditions, with Spain and France bracing for another stifling heatwave that could fan existing blazes and ignite new ones.
“- Published Firefighters in France are working around the clock to contain wildfires that have been raging in the Gironde region, while bracing for another sharp rise in temperatures”
Al Jazeera said Sophie Brocas, Gironde’s prefect, banned all sporting and cultural events until August 8, while also reporting that France’s fourth heatwave of 2026 was expected to begin on Tuesday with temperatures forecast to reach as high as 40 degrees Celsius.
In Spain, Al Jazeera reported that 116,000 people had had to leave their homes since the wildfires began, and it said Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told people “can be a little more at ease” after progress overnight.
The same report described how firefighters were also dealing with blazes in the neighbouring provinces of Avila and Toledo, with about 800sq km of land burned.
Looking beyond the immediate fire zones, the Taipei Times cited European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib warning that “Extreme conditions are looming for Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, in addition to France, the Iberian Peninsula ... where the situation is expected to worsen, including in Portugal starting today.”
