More than 80,000 people have been forced to evacuate as fast-moving wildfires continue to spread across Spain and southwestern France, prompting both countries to seek emergency assistance from European Union partners.
Spain declared a national emergency after wildfires threatened communities near Madrid, forcing the evacuation of approximately 20,000 residents. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described the situation as “dramatic” and expressed solidarity with those displaced by the fires.
The emergency declaration places Spain’s Interior Ministry in charge of coordinating firefighting operations nationwide as multiple regions battle blazes intensified by an ongoing heat wave.
Authorities said around 18,000 people were evacuated from towns west of Madrid, while another major wildfire in the central province of Ávila also required national intervention. Spain is currently battling 11 major wildfires, with temperatures expected to reach 44°C in parts of the country.
Spanish officials reported that more than 1,140 square kilometres have burned so far this year—more than five times the area destroyed during the same period in 2025.
In neighbouring France, more than 60,000 people have fled their homes as two large wildfires continue to burn along the Atlantic coast. Authorities evacuated 40,000 residents from the Gironde department and another 23,000 from Landes, with some people escaping by boat.
French President Emmanuel Macron said additional firefighting aircraft and helicopters from Croatia, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Slovakia will assist emergency crews.
The largest French wildfire has burned roughly 100 square kilometres near the tourist destination of Cap Ferret, southwest of Bordeaux, while another blaze farther south remains out of control.
Elsewhere in southern Europe, Italy continues to battle major wildfires across Sicily. More than 1,400 firefighting operations have been carried out since last weekend, with several provinces remaining under the highest wildfire alert.
Scientists continue to warn that climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of heat waves and drought across Europe, creating conditions that make large-scale wildfires more likely. Europe remains the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures rising at roughly twice the global average since the 1980s.
