- 330,000 people have been driven from homes and vacation sites across France and Spain due to huge wildfires.
- French authorities ordered 4,000 more people evacuated from tourist sites along its Atlantic coast, widening what may be France's largest peacetime evacuation.
- In the Madrid region, 24,000 people have been told they can return home, and lockdowns on another 20,000 have been lifted.
- The Gironde fire has burned an area four times the size of Paris and forced 220,000 people to evacuate.
- More than 1,160 square kilometers (448 square miles) have burned across France this year, according to the Interior Ministry.
- Western Europe recorded its hottest June on record, with extreme heat and widespread dryness contributing to the spread and intensification of fires in France and Spain.
- Spanish authorities have allowed thousands of people evacuated because of wildfires to return to their homes after restrictions were lifted in the areas of Toledo, Madrid, Ávila, and Castellón.
- One fire remains out of control, at Vall d'Uixó north-west of Valencia, while the fire at Burgohondo in Ávila province has ravaged more than 43,000 hectares (108,000 acres) and is now considered the largest recorded wildfire in Spanish history.
- Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska stated that nonstop work through the night left him 'reasonably positive,' though officials warned that crews had only a brief window before extreme heat returned.
- Fourteen people died in the Almería fires, including UK and Belgian nationals as well as US, French, and Spanish citizens.
- Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez warned that the next 12 hours will be 'decisive' in putting out the wildfire near the capital.
Wildfires across France and Spain have led to the evacuation of around 330,000 people, with the Gironde fire alone displacing 220,000 individuals. This situation is exacerbated by a looming fourth heatwave this summer, following a record-breaking June in Western Europe.136
French authorities have ordered 4,000 more evacuations from tourist sites along the Atlantic coast, indicating the scale of the crisis. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez described the operation as potentially the largest civilian evacuation outside of wartime.
In Spain, 40,000 people have been forced from their homes due to the Burgohondo fire, which has become the largest wildfire in Spanish history, ravaging over 43,000 hectares (108,000 acres). Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska expressed cautious optimism about firefighting efforts, although he warned that crews face a limited window before extreme heat returns.8910
Despite some evacuees being allowed to return home, including 24,000 in the Madrid region, the situation remains precarious as authorities brace for further challenges. The fires have already claimed 14 lives, including nationals from the UK, Belgium, the US, France, and Spain, highlighting the human toll of this environmental disaster.
“The Gironde fire has burned an area four times the size of Paris, prompting French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez to call it 'very likely' the largest civilian evacuation operation outside war. Meanwhile, the Burgohondo fire in Spain has become the largest recorded wildfire in the country's history, ravaging over 43,000 hectares and displacing 40,000 people.”
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