France battles intense wildfires: 25,000 hectares burned, double last year's area at this date
More than 8,000 fire starts have charred 25,000 hectares across France so far this season, double the area burned by 10 July 2025. A severe drought and heatwave have pushed 63 departments to high fire risk, with one at very high.
Scale of the fires
France is confronting a wildfire season of exceptional intensity, said Julien Marion, Director General for Civil Security and Crisis Management, during a press conference on Friday, 10 July 2026. More than 8,000 fire starts have scorched 25,000 hectares since the season began, exactly double the area burned by the same date last year. On the previous day alone, over 40 fires were reported. Data from the European Forest Fire Information System (Effis) confirm the surge: 7,800 hectares burned in the first eight days of July 2026, compared to just over 4,400 hectares in the entire month of July 2025.
We are experiencing a forest fire season of exceptional intensity, with more than 8,000 fire starts for 25,000 hectares, double what was measured last year at the same date.
Météo France placed 63 departments at high wildfire risk on Friday, while Haute-Garonne faces a very high risk. The agency's CEO, Virginie Schwartz, stressed that with significant vegetation drought and persistently high temperatures, the public must exercise great caution.
In the context of significant vegetation drought and the still high level of temperatures, great caution is asked.
- 2026 (until 10 July)
- 25000 hectares
- 2025 (until 10 July)
- 12500 hectares
Die fire and evacuations
In the Drôme department, a wildfire near Die has been burning for seven days in steep, uninhabited terrain close to the Vercors foothills. Despite the efforts of some 570 firefighters, the burned area grew from 3,000 to 3,500 hectares on Thursday. Around 400 people were evacuated, including from a campsite, as flames advanced. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez reported on Wednesday that more than 325 fire starts were recorded nationwide that day alone, underscoring the breadth of the crisis.
- 325 fire starts recorded nationwide; Interior Minister calls for employer solidarity
- Météo France raises 59 departments to high or very high fire danger; Die fire reaches 3,500 hectares
- DGSCGC announces 25,000 hectares burned season-to-date; Die fire evacuates 400; over 40 fires reported in one day
Resource mobilization
Civil security has deployed what Julien Marion called unprecedented resources: 2,240 forest-fire specialised firefighters and 640 firefighting vehicles. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu convened an inter-ministerial crisis meeting on Friday. The Interior Minister urged employers to release volunteer firefighters so they can join the effort, calling for solidarity.
Volunteer firefighter union criticism
Bruno Ménard, secretary general of the volunteer firefighters' union, told franceinfo that the situation is becoming very, very critical. He highlighted that the burned area in early July has already outpaced the full July 2025 figure. Ménard argued that a government request to employers is perceived as a failure of the state, contrasting it with direct requests from workers themselves which are well received.
We have exceeded the volume burned last year and we are only at the beginning of July.
He also stressed the precarious role of volunteers, who represent 68% of interventions but are mostly salaried employees working on their free time, at a cost four times lower than professionals. Ménard denounced a very great precariousness and the use of volunteers to control budgets. A meeting between the civil security directorate and unions scheduled this week was postponed to early next week. The possibility of requisitioning professional firefighters to delay their summer holidays is also under discussion.
