Large fires in France and Spain are forcing the evacuation of 330,000 people as another heat wave approaches.
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Firefighters and planes battled to bring a wildfire under control in southwestern France on Monday before rising temperatures complicated the effort to fight the blaze that has burned an area four times the size of Paris.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the fire had stopped, the first sign of hope since the fire forced 220,000 people to flee the region near the city of Bordeaux.
But since the forest is still smoldering, the minister warned that this battle has not been won.
“It hasn’t improved overnight,” Nunez said. “We have to stay very focused, very determined, to go at any time.”
He spoke after French President Emmanuel Macron held a press conference on Monday focused on a major firefighting effort in the Gironde region and wildfires elsewhere.
The Gironde region said the situation overnight remained “globally stable” – a change from days before when officials said the flames had spread to within 15 kilometers of the outskirts of Bordeaux, a historic city of 268,000 people, and were causing storms with fierce lightning.
No new exits were announced on Monday. But with France about to enter its peak tourist season in August, the Gironde authorities acted to keep tourists away, closing holiday camps for children and people with disabilities. Nunez also urged people to avoid the region, famous for its Atlantic beaches and some of France’s largest forests.
In the nearby southwestern region of Landes, where hundreds of firefighters have been advancing against another powerful but small fire, the region said some rain had fallen overnight and described conditions as “favorable” for firefighting but warned that they could change.
Fast-spreading and deadly wildfires in France and Spain have forced more than 300,000 people to evacuate, and there are fears that an approaching heat wave could worsen the situation.
With thousands of firefighters on the ground and a rotation of water- and air-droppers, it was a race against time before an expected heat wave could make fighting the flames even more difficult. The National Weather Service forecast is for a high of 35 C in the southwest on Tuesday and possibly higher on Wednesday.
“We know that the temperatures will rise again, we will enter a period of extreme heat, so we must remain vigilant,” said Nunez. “As long as the fire is out of control, the situation is not good.”
Crews using earth movers tear up patches of forest and wasteland to create wilderness areas, which are intended to stop fires from spreading. The farmers kept the firemen supplied with water, taking it to them in tankers.
About a dozen countries have provided planes, helicopters, firefighters and other aid to France and Spain, which are also battling the unprecedented flames. In total, the fires in both countries have forced more than 330,000 people to flee.
Macron did not immediately comment after the government crisis meeting he chaired. In a post on X over the weekend, he promised long-term support for communities hit by the fire, saying: “We will rebuild, we will repair and we will be there as long as necessary.”
Spain is battling its biggest fires ever
In Spain, wildfires have burned out of control in Madrid and the Valencia region. The authorities evacuated 79,000 people and locked another 30,000 in their homes.
In both Spain and France, the level of unusual fires – fueled by heat waves that hit too hard earlier this year, making forests and scrubland tinder-dry – call for tougher measures against climate change.
“What we are dealing with is not a series of isolated incidents. It is the result of a climate emergency that makes wildfires more violent, heat waves more frequent,” said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
A fire in the hilly, rural area of Avila, west of Madrid, has become Spain’s largest on record, burning 50,000 hectares, the government said. That’s five times the size of Barcelona.
Fires have burned 153,000 hectares this year in Spain – six times the area burned in the first half of 2025, said Sara Aagesen, the environment minister.
The minister said another heat wave forecast from Tuesday – which would be Spain’s fourth so far this year – could end the fire danger. The Spanish weather agency is predicting temperatures of over 40 C.
Canadair planes are fighting a fire in Italy
A wildfire driven by strong winds broke out Sunday afternoon near Peschici, in the southern Italian region of Puglia, burning a pine forest and scrub and forcing the evacuation of about 300 tourists from beaches and campsites, authorities said.
The Coast Guard evacuated the tourists by sea to nearby Vieste, where authorities opened temporary shelters.
Three Canadian water bombers and ground fire fighters continued Monday to battle the blaze, which revived memories of devastating fires that swept through the same coastal area in 2007.
