France and Spain wildfires strain crews before new heat wave
Firefighters in France and Spain are trying to contain record blazes before forecast heat pushes temperatures to 104 F.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
Fire crews battling the France and Spain wildfires were racing Monday to contain major blazes before another round of dangerous heat, the Associated Press reported. The fires have forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes and raised alarms as forecasts call for temperatures to climb again this week.
French President Emmanuel Macron visited a firefighting coordination center in southwest France, where officials described a fast-changing blaze that has burned through an area four times the size of Paris. Macron called it France’s worst fire-related crisis since World War II and told crews the effort would take time.
The fire has threatened areas near Bordeaux, one of France’s best-known wine regions. Officials said firefighters stopped its forward movement Monday, but warned that smoldering forests and dry conditions could allow flare-ups as temperatures rise.
How bad are the wildfires in France and Spain?
In southwest France, authorities were providing food, shelter and care for large numbers of evacuees. The AP reported that 250,000 people had been displaced in the region by two fires, while Macron was briefed that one blaze had forced 220,000 people to leave their homes.
No new evacuation orders were announced Monday. Regional officials in Gironde, however, tried to discourage travel as France approaches its peak August vacation period, including bans on holiday camps for children and people with disabilities.
Crews used earth-moving equipment to cut bare strips through forest and scrub to slow the fire. Officials said the flames had reached within about 15 kilometers, or 10 miles, of Bordeaux’s outskirts, while farmers helped supply firefighters with water in tanks.
France’s national weather service forecast temperatures of at least 35 C, or 95 F, in southwest France from Tuesday. Macron and other officials said the coming heat could make the next phase more difficult because repeated heat waves have left forests highly flammable.
Spain is also fighting severe fires, with blazes burning around Madrid and in the Valencia region, according to the AP. Spanish authorities evacuated 79,000 people and told another 30,000 to remain inside their homes.
The Spanish government said a fire in Ávila, west of Madrid, had become the country’s largest on record after burning 500 square kilometers, or 193 square miles. That area is about five times the size of Barcelona.
Sara Aagesen, Spain’s ecology minister, said fires have burned 1,530 square kilometers, or 590 square miles, in Spain this year. She said that is six times the area burned during the first half of 2025.
Spain’s weather agency forecast temperatures above 40 C, or 104 F, as another heat wave arrives Tuesday. Aagesen said the heat could increase the risk of new or worsening fires.
Around a dozen countries have sent aircraft, helicopters, firefighters or other help to France and Spain, the AP reported. In all, fires in the two countries have driven more than 330,000 people from their homes.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez linked the scale of the fires to climate change, saying the country was facing the effects of a climate emergency that is making wildfires more violent and heat waves more common.
Italy also faced fire danger. Authorities said a wind-driven wildfire near Peschici in the southern Puglia region forced about 300 tourists to leave beaches and campgrounds, with the Coast Guard moving people by sea to nearby Vieste.
This story draws on original reporting from NPR.