France and Spain race to control historic wildfires ahead of a new heatwave.
France and Spain are racing against time to contain the worst wildfires in many people's memory, just before a new extreme heatwave is expected to hit Western Europe this week.
Since the beginning of 2026, wildfires have burned 150,000 hectares of land in Spain and 115,000 hectares in France, claiming many lives, destroying countless properties, and forcing hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate urgently.
French President Emmanuel Macron has just announced that a major fire in the Landes region has been largely brought under control. However, all attention is now focused on another "massive fire" near Bordeaux. This intense blaze is even generating its own wind currents and rare fire cloud phenomena.
In just the past six days, this uncontrolled wildfire has devastated 42,000 hectares, forced 220,000 people to flee their homes, and destroyed 240 houses.
Speaking at the Bordeaux crisis center, President Macron warned: "The coming weeks will be very difficult and we must stand firm." He also emphasized that this disaster is a direct consequence of "climate change conditions."
In neighboring Spain, wildfires threatening the area west of the capital Madrid have forced 60,000 people to evacuate. To date, the fires have destroyed 77,000 hectares – an area nearly the size of New York City.
Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said the next few hours would be "absolutely decisive" in controlling the fires. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the wildfire disaster "the most heartbreaking manifestation of the climate emergency."
Authorities are expected to face even greater challenges in extinguishing the fires as scorching heat waves return. Meteorological agencies predict temperatures will reach 40°C in France and 42°C in Spain by mid-week, accompanied by strong winds and extremely low humidity.
The European Union (EU) is urgently sending additional water-bombing aircraft to France and Spain. However, EU representatives warn that firefighting forces across the bloc are already stretched to their limit, as extreme conditions and wildfire risks are also threatening a number of other countries such as Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Portugal.
