Around 30,000 people have been forced to flee wildfires in France and Spain as a marine heatwave pushes temperatures to extreme levels across southern Europe. France has requested assistance from the European Union, while Spain has declared a national emergency in the Madrid region and the province of Avila, as several fires burn out of control.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that the situation remained “extremely tense”, with fires particularly severe in Gironde, southwestern France. He announced that France had triggered the EU’s civil protection mechanism, with reinforcements including two Croatian Canadair aircraft, two Portuguese Air Tractor planes, and two heavy Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
On France’s Atlantic coast, more than 18,800 people, including thousands of tourists, were evacuated from campsites and holiday homes as firefighters battled a blaze near the village of Saumos, west of Bordeaux. The fire had burned over 3,700 hectares in little more than 24 hours. No casualties were reported, but several houses were destroyed. Regional fire service chief Marc Vermeulen said: “The fire is highly erratic and gaining very significant force. One of the main fronts is very close to a semi-urban area. We are defending house by house.”
In Spain, the government declared a national emergency late Thursday, placing response efforts under a military emergency unit. Around 10,000 people have been evacuated in the Madrid area. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote on X that “every available resource” had been deployed to combat the fires in Avila, Leon, Toledo, Madrid and elsewhere. Spain has recorded temperatures as high as 44.7C in Cieza, Murcia, and several cities broke July records.
A marine heatwave is affecting 80% of the Mediterranean Sea’s surface, with some areas 5C hotter than the 1991-2020 average. Data from the European Forest Fire Information System shows that area burned in the EU so far this year is double the average for this date, with France and Spain also breaking records for the number of fires. Evacuee Patrick Martineau, from Le Porge, said police had “come banging on the doors… It’s scary – hard to take in.” Holidaymaker Sylvie, staying in Lège-Cap-Ferret, said a neighbour had warned her of the danger.
