France braces for fourth major heatwave as crews tackle Bordeaux blaze
Fire crews and military engineers are holding lines as the blaze has burned about 42,000 hectares and forced 220,000 evacuations, officials said.
- Massive wildfires across France and Spain forced roughly 330,000 people to evacuate homes and tourist destinations on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, following weeks of extreme heat and drought.
- France's Gironde blaze evolved into a self-feeding firestorm, generating lightning that triggers new outbreaks, according to the National Firefighters Federation of France. This unprecedented phenomenon explains why the fire proved unpredictable and difficult to contain near Bordeaux.
- Following Spain's national emergency declaration, France deployed 1,500 soldiers and 1,700 security personnel to bolster firefighting efforts. More than 150,000 hectares have burned across Spain since January, six times the area destroyed during the same period last year.
- Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the blazes "the most painful expression of a climate emergency," while President Emmanuel Macron warned the emergency remains virulent despite some fires being contained.
- Forecasts of temperatures climbing above 40°C today raise fears that hotter conditions will complicate containment efforts. Officials cautioned that full extinguishment could take months, potentially delaying return timelines for displaced residents.
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A new heat wave, drought and winds increase the risk of forest fire – and increase firefighters in existing fires. There are successes in Spain.
Tourists flee French holiday sites as Spain counts cost of wildfires
Spanish residents who were evacuated from some of the worst wildfires in living memory have begun returning to their homes – but thousands more were ordered to leave in France over fears that a looming heatwave would fan fires that have ripped through the country’s southwest.
The Gironde prefecture allows 60,000 people to return home on Tuesday, July 28, 2026. The ARS has issued recommendations to protect themselves during the cleaning.
Depending on where you live, clearing can be mandatory. It creates a natural protection against flames. To prevent them, there are rules that vary according to the departments. The prefecture can issue a legal obligation of clearing near a forest deemed to be at risk. In Loire-Atlantique, no decree is in force, but each owner is obliged to maintain his land. In case of non-compliance, he can be ordered by the town hall. (Subjects of company).
Hundreds of thousands of people have had to be evacuated due to forest fires in the past week.
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