Wildfires continue to spread across Europe. On Tuesday, July 28, French authorities ordered the emergency evacuation of another 4,000 people from a tourist area along the Atlantic coast. As extreme heat returned, a massive wildfire west of Bordeaux remained not fully under control, forcing France to carry out one of its largest peacetime evacuations.
According to the Associated Press, local authorities reported new hot spots near Grand Crohot, a popular beach on the Lège-Cap-Ferret peninsula. The number of firefighting planes and helicopters deployed to the area rose to 23 as crews dropped water and fire retardant to prevent the blaze from spreading.
“The situation remains complicated. That’s clear. We’re not out of the woods,” said Sophie Brocas, prefect of the Gironde department.
However, she said about 60,000 residents who had previously been evacuated as a precaution from Le Haillan, Mérignac and Eysines, outside Bordeaux’s ring road, were allowed to return home that day.
Although no fires had broken out in those communities, residents were still instructed to keep their phones nearby and emergency bags packed in case another evacuation became necessary.
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The expanding evacuation zones in coastal resort areas, alongside the cautious return of some residents who remain on alert, reflect the continued instability of the fire.
About 330,000 people in France and Spain have so far been evacuated from their homes and vacation destinations because of wildfires. Spain, meanwhile, is experiencing its fourth heat wave of the summer as several major fires continue to burn, including the largest wildfire ever recorded in the country.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the Gironde wildfire had burned an area four times the size of Paris and forced 220,000 people to evacuate. He said it was likely to become the largest civilian evacuation in France outside wartime, the Associated Press reported.
Authorities urge tourists to avoid danger zones
The Gironde prefecture said the latest evacuation order covered campsites, holiday resorts, tourist apartments and recreational parks around Lacanau.
Eric Brocardi, a spokesperson for France’s National Federation of Firefighters, said the fire zone remained extremely vulnerable and that crews would continue their efforts despite rising temperatures.
According to Le Parisien, some families continued with their vacations despite nearby homes being destroyed and repeated official warnings to stay away. Some reportedly refused to abandon holidays worth 4,000 euros, while other tourists hesitated to cancel trips costing 650 euros per person.
At the height of the blaze, a massive pyrocumulonimbus cloud formed over Gironde. Lightning flashed within the cloud, while powerful winds sparked new fires beyond the original burn zone. It was the first time France had recorded such a wildfire-generated thunderstorm cloud.
France’s national weather service issued a yellow heat warning for Gironde, with inland temperatures expected to reach 33 to 35 degrees Celsius.
French Interior Ministry data showed that more than 1,160 square kilometres of land have burned in wildfires across France this year.
Firefighters continue defending residential areas
According to the Associated Press, in Le Porge, west of Bordeaux, about 150 homes have been destroyed.
Officials warned that smouldering vegetation, rising temperatures and falling humidity could cause new hotspots to flare up along the edges of the fire.
Military engineers and forest-fire crews have completed 103 kilometres of firebreaks. At least 110 firefighters have been injured during the operation.
In the Landes department, about 15,000 evacuees were allowed to return home after another wildfire stopped advancing.
French President Emmanuel Macron said it was good news that the Landes fire had stopped spreading. Authorities stressed, however, that the blaze had not been fully extinguished and that remaining hotspots could reignite. Monitoring and firefighting operations were expected to continue for days or even weeks.
Spain also began lifting some evacuation orders as several fires were brought under partial control.
After sustained firefighting efforts, at least 20,000 evacuees were allowed to return home, while stay-at-home orders were lifted for another 14,000 people. However, several large wildfires continued to burn across the country.
In recent days, smoke from the fires drifted into Madrid, where residents reported a strong smell of smoke and saw ash falling from the sky.
The Spanish government declared a nationwide state of emergency in response to the wildfire crisis.
The national weather agency warned that Spain was about to enter its fourth heat wave of the summer, with temperatures expected to exceed 40 degrees Celsius in some areas. The extreme heat could further intensify the fires.
At least 13 people have died in wildfires in Spain so far this year, making 2026 one of the country’s deadliest wildfire seasons in decades.
A fire in the mountainous province of Ávila, west of Madrid, has burned more than 500 square kilometres, making it the largest wildfire ever recorded in Spain.
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