Over 250,000 evacuated as fires sweep southwest France and central Spain

Unprecedented scale of fires

Wildfires have overwhelmed firefighting resources in both countries, consuming a combined 228,000 hectares so far this year. In France, interior minister Laurent Nuñez reported 98,000 hectares burned, calling it a historic record. Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez said 130,000 hectares had been destroyed, exceeding the decade average of 100,000 hectares. French prime minister Sébastien Lecornu described the situation as unprecedented.

The forest fires that have engulfed our country have reached an unprecedented scale.

In the Gironde department, rescuers encountered a so-called convective fire, a phenomenon that creates its own wind currents, accelerates spread, and can suddenly change direction. Lecornu noted that civil protection specialists had never faced such a phenomenon before.

Mass evacuations and military response

By Saturday 25 July, authorities had ordered some 197,000 people to leave their homes in the Gironde and Landes departments. Around 40,000 were evacuated the previous day from the Cap-Ferret peninsula using the only road and boats, in what the interior minister called probably the largest peacetime evacuation operation in France. Early Saturday, roughly 60,000 residents of seven towns near Bordeaux were told to leave as winds threatened to push the fire toward the city, which remains about 30 kilometres away. Bordeaux mayor Thomas Cazeneuve said a city evacuation was not yet on the agenda.

France deployed over 500 military personnel, with another 500 expected soon. For the first time, a military transport aircraft, the A400M, was used in firefighting, dropping 20 tons of water or retardant per flight. Some 1.5 million FFP2 masks were distributed in Gironde for firefighters and residents affected by smoke.

Spain’s crisis near Madrid

In Spain, two fires west of Madrid merged on Friday into one giant blaze, which was on the verge of joining another fire in the neighbouring Castile-León region. The regional emergency chief, Carlos Novillo, said the fire was beyond the capacity of fire brigades.

In this area it is impossible to fight the fire, so defensive measures are being taken.

The Madrid regional government declared a state of emergency, and president Isabel Díaz Ayuso called it the worst fire in the region’s history. Around 70,000 people were evacuated from villages west of Madrid. The Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex, one of three antenna systems that provide NASA with spacecraft communications, suspended operations. Authorities urged residents to stay indoors to avoid smoke and poor air quality, especially vulnerable groups.

Weather and outlook

A slight drop in temperature and rise in humidity on Saturday offered a window of opportunity for firefighters, but Prime Minister Sánchez cautioned that wind behaviour remained unpredictable. Forecasts warn of another spike in temperatures next week, with no rain expected, leaving the region highly flammable after months of heat and drought.