Over 220,000 evacuated as twin wildfire crises engulf southwestern France and central Spain

Southwestern France and central Spain faced a deepening wildfire emergency on 24–25 July 2026, with authorities ordering wave after wave of evacuations as blazes fed by extreme heat and strong winds outran containment efforts.

France’s evacuation operation

In France, the Gironde and Landes regions have been the epicentre. The interior ministry said more than 140,000 people had left their homes since the fires began on 22 July, including roughly 110,000 in Gironde and 31,000 in Landes. A separate overnight evacuation of 8,000 residents in Biscarrosse brought the Landes total to 31,000. The most dramatic move came on 24 July when the entire Cap Ferret peninsula, a holiday spot 70 km west of Bordeaux, was ordered to clear out. Some 40,000 people were told to leave, with rescue boats operating from three jetties to ferry a few hundred by sea because only one road links the peninsula to the mainland.

In every municipality in the path of the fire, all residents … will receive a notification on their mobile phones … giving them the signal to begin their evacuation.

Authorities said around 100 buildings had been destroyed and 19,000 hectares burned across the area. Five firefighters suffered minor injuries or respiratory trouble; no civilian casualties were reported.

Spain’s merged mega-fire

In the Madrid region, three separate fires merged into a single front on 24 July, threatening the municipalities of Robledo de Chavela and Fresnedillas de la Oliva, about 50 km from the capital. Regional president Isabel Díaz Ayuso called it the worst wildfire in the region’s history. Around 25,000 people were ordered to evacuate, and another 40,000 were told to remain indoors. Emergency services chief Carlos Novillo said the fire was outstripping firefighting capacity.

The fire is at its peak and, at present, exceeds the firefighters’ capability to contain it.

At least 6,000 hectares burned near Madrid, and a separate blaze in the neighbouring province of Ávila had destroyed 9,000 hectares. Officials feared the two could merge.

Emergency response and military deployment

French President Emmanuel Macron mobilised the armed forces on 24 July to support rescue operations, while Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu scheduled an emergency cabinet meeting for 25 July. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez called the situation “entirely unprecedented.”

This is an entirely unprecedented situation.

Spain declared a national emergency, and its Military Emergency Unit was deployed to protect areas near El Escorial. Both countries continued to face forecasts of sustained high winds, raising the risk of further spread.

Climate and fire conditions

Meteorologists linked the crisis to a record-setting heatwave exacerbated by climate change. In France, officials described the blazes as “heat transfer fires” that create strong updrafts, carrying heat over long distances and accelerating the spread of fire fronts. The region had been primed by weeks of drought.

What comes next

With winds expected to persist through 25 July, authorities warned that additional evacuation orders or shelter-in-place instructions remained likely. Coordination between civilian and military teams continued, but no immediate let-up in weather conditions was forecast.