Firefighters in France and Spain are racing to bring huge wildfires under control before another heatwave later this week that will complicate efforts to tame the flames.
Spain’s interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, said Monday and Tuesday were “absolutely crucial days” before temperatures rise again from Wednesday onwards.
EU officials have said wildfires could still be burning until early November in what threatens to be a record-breaking year for the area of land burned.
A fire in the hilly terrain of Ávila, west of Madrid, has become Spain’s largest on record, burning ۵۰,۰۰۰ hectares (۱۲۳,۰۰۰ acres). Authorities are battling two separate fires north-west of Madrid, taking the total area of scorched land near the capital to ۷۰,۰۰۰ hectares.
France was also in “a race against time” to control wildfires before another heatwave this week, said Eric Brocardi, a fire service spokesperson. Weather forecasters have said temperatures could reach ۴۰C (۱۰۴F) is some parts of the country from Tuesday.
This would complicate efforts to control the wildfire in Gironde in south-west France, which the interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, described as “extremely intense and unpredictable … generating its own winds and advancing erratically toward the Bordeaux metropolitan area”.
The Gironde fire has so far burned ۴۲,۰۰۰ hectares, making it one of the biggest devastations of land in France since the second world war.
In the Cestas commune, about ۱۰ miles (۱۷km) from the city of Bordeaux, firefighters used mechanical diggers to uproot trees in a attempt to create a firewall.
The vast fire, which has triggered the evacuation of ۲۲۰,۰۰۰ people, had not progressed during the early hours of Monday but was “not contained” and remained “very complicated to control”, Nuñez said.
Speaking after an emergency meeting of the French government on Monday, he described this year’s wildfires as “completely exceptional”. More than ۱۱۶,۰۰۰ hectares of forest and vegetation have been burned since January, far exceeding the ۷۰,۰۰۰ hectares reported for the whole of ۲۰۲۵.
Spain’s government said the ۱۷۲,۰۰۰ hectares of forested land burned this yearwas six times greater than the equivalent figure for ۲۰۲۵.
The prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, told a climate conference the wildfires were not isolated incidents. “It is the most painful manifestation of a climate emergency that is making … wildfires more voracious and heatwaves more frequent, and as a result our land more vulnerable,” he said. “It is no longer an exception. It is the rule.”
The European Commission’s lead official on the green transition, Teresa Ribera, said Europe was not prepared for the consequences of climate change. In an interview with El País she said the commission would propose an adaptation strategy in October that would be much more comprehensive than policies implemented so far.
A series of heatwaves, including record-breaking temperatures in June, which scientists say would have been impossible without the climate crisis, has left parched soils and tinder-dry vegetation that have fuelled this summer’s fires.
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A European Commission official said the wildfire season had begun in April and could last until early November. Officials also stressed the rising risks for fighting wildfires from the middle of the week in France, Spain and Greece.
The EU executive has coordinated the despatch of seven planes and four helicopters to France, as well as six planes and three forest firefighting teams to Spain, after the countries triggered the bloc’s emergency assistance mechanism. EU officials have also been sent to the Bordeaux region to assist local authorities.
Officials stressed the unprecedented nature of recent fires, which have spread rapidly over large areas. A commission official said that a recent fire in southern Spain that killed ۱۳ people had reached speeds of ۶km/h (more than ۳mph), while firefighters are only able to react to fires moving ۳۰۰ metres an hour or less.
The scale of Europe’s wildfires has raised questions about the continent’s ability to respond. Italy is among about ۱۰ European countries that have sent firefighting equipment or teams to France and Spain, while grappling with its own blazes.
Firefighters fought to extinguish a major wildfire in the southern region of Puglia on Monday. More than ۴۰۰ people, many of them tourists staying in campsites set among pine forests, were evacuated by sea from the Gargano peninsula on Sunday as the blaze, fanned by strong winds, encroached on beaches.
A further ۵۸ people were evacuated from their homes in Maratea as a wildfire swept through neighbouring Basilicata.
Italy is bracing itself for its fourth heatwave this year as temperatures edge up towards highs of ۳۸ to ۴۰C from Wednesday.
In France, Emmanuel Macron was expected to visit the area near Bordeaux to show support.
Smoke from the fires is continuing to cause a “marked deterioration” in air quality across a swathe of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region and beyond, with health authorities issuing warnings about the danger.
Elderly people, pregnant women and those with respiratory issues and chronic conditions were advised to take precautions. Local health authorities said people should close windows, wear an FFP۲ mask outside and avoid strenuous activity.
The prime minister’s office said more than ۱.۵ million FFP۲ masks had been sent to the region.
