Wildfires in France and Spain force over 100,000 to evacuate as nations declare emergency

Mass evacuations on the French Atlantic coast

On 24 July French authorities ordered the total evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula, a tourist area on the Atlantic coast, as a wildfire consumed between 100 and 125 square kilometres of land. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said 32 active wildfires were burning across the country, with the Saumos fire north of Cap Ferret the largest so far this season. Boats were dispatched to help residents flee the peninsula, while others hired small water taxis. The operation pushed the number of evacuees in the Gironde department to roughly 44,000, with a further 23,000 displaced from the neighbouring Landes department. In the city of Arcachon, about 1,500 arrivals were met with coffee, fruit and water in a reception area set up by town officials.

It's quite impressive and even frightening. An evacuation on this scale has never happened before. All we really hope is that the firefighters can quickly get it under control.

Spain declares first-ever national wildfire emergency

Two large fires west of Madrid merged on 24 July despite the deployment of more than 2,000 personnel and 10 aircraft. The merged blaze consumed 30 square kilometres, and the Madrid regional government's emergency management chief, Carlos Novillo, said the fire was beyond the capacity of firefighters to contain. Authorities declared a national emergency for the first time over a wildfire, and about 40,000 people were ordered to evacuate from towns in the mountains west of the capital or to shelter indoors. The affected area is populated with second homes of Madrid residents, and over 19,000 inhabitants received direct evacuation orders. A separate fire in Avila province burned 90 square kilometres and displaced about 1,500 people.

The wildfire is at its peak and is currently beyond the capacity of firefighters to contain.

Arrest and suspected arson

Spanish police arrested a tractor driver accused of sparking one of the wildfires by using farm machinery, as authorities enforced a ban on such activities amid tinderbox conditions. A second suspect was being investigated over a similar incident. The arrest came as the fire linked to the driver forced tens of thousands from their homes and as the number of people displaced across Spain and France passed the 100,000 mark.

EU and international response

Both France and Spain appealed to the European Union for firefighting reinforcements. The EU dispatched four water-bombing aircraft to Spain and three to France, while Italy, Greece, Croatia, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Slovakia pledged additional aid. French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed the country would receive EU help, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on X that his government had deployed "all available resources" against what he called a "dramatic situation" spreading beyond Spain's borders. The World Health Organization's European office noted the growing scale of land burned by wildfires across the continent.