Both countries expect to see temperatures soar into Wednesday, which could cause the blazes to spread.
Published On ۲۸ Jul ۲۰۲۶۲۸ Jul ۲۰۲۶
The spread of wildfires in France and Spain that had come dangerously close to the cities of Bordeaux and Madrid appears to be slowing, authorities say, but they are bracing for yet another stifling heatwave this week, which could fan the flames of current blazes and ignite new ones.
Nearly ۴,۰۰۰ people were evacuated from tourist sites in the Lacanau area of the Gironde region in southwestern France on Tuesday, bringing the total number who have fled Gironde to well over a quarter of a million. The wine-growing region, which includes the historic city of Bordeaux is the worst affected in France by the wildfires
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“We are at a point of fragility,” Eric Brocardi, spokesperson for France’s national firefighters federation, told BFMTV on Tuesday. “We will continue attacking this fire despite the forecast rise in temperatures.”
Images posted by the French newspaper Le Figaro showed ash on a beach in Lacanau. Sophie Brocas, Gironde’s prefect, has banned all sporting and cultural events until August ۸.
France’s fourth heatwave of ۲۰۲۶ is expected to begin on Tuesday as temperatures are forecast to reach as high as ۴۰ degrees Celsius (۱۰۴ degrees Fahrenheit) in the coming days. When the heatwave reaches Spain on Wednesday, temperatures are expected to be even hotter there.
In Spain, ۱۱۶,۰۰۰ people have had to leave their homes since the wildfires began, but some have since been able to return. In the central province of Toledo, people from nine of ۱۱ evacuated towns were allowed to go back to their homes on Tuesday.
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said people “can be a little more at ease” after progress overnight in tackling the many blazes in the country, which are mostly concentrated in central Spain.
Firefighters are also dealing with blazes in the neighbouring provinces of Avila and Toledo. About ۸۰۰sq km (۳۱۰sq miles) of land have burned.
One Spanish evacuee from the east of the country told the Reuters news agency he had witnessed “total chaos”.
“It was like in the movies where hell cracked the ground open, and you see the red hell.”
The scorching heat has renewed concerns about climate change with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez describing the fires as “the most painful expression of a climate emergency”.
Sanchez said authorities are beginning “to see the light at the end of the tunnel in the fight against wildfires” but cautioned that the upcoming heatwave still has to be dealt with.
