Europe liveWildfires Europe wildfires: more than 300,000 flee homes and holiday accommodation in France and Spain as fires rage Fires displace people on massive scale and trigger one of the largest peacetime civilian evacuation operations ever carried out in France More than 250,000 people flee wildfires in France and Spain LIVE Updated 33m ago Wendy Frew Sun 26 Jul 2026 07.36 BSTFirst published on Sun 26 Jul 2026 06.49 BST Share Key events 1h ago Opening summary Residents and holiday makers in France and Spain have been evacuated as wildfires continue to burn, like here near the town of Lege-Cap-Ferret, in southwestern France.
Thousands crowded into emergency shelters in France and Spain on Sunday after wildfires drove more than 300,000 people to flee their homes and holiday accommodation.
The blazes have destroyed houses, displaced people on a massive scale and triggered one of the largest peacetime civilian evacuation operations ever carried out in France, with major fires still burning in both countries.
One person was killed in eastern Spain and fresh evacuations were ordered around the French city of Bordeaux and the Spanish capital Madrid as authorities warned of another difficult night.
Families slept on camp beds in exhibition halls and gymnasiums after fleeing walls of smoke and flames that swept through forests and tourist areas, leaving residents and holidaymakers uncertain if they would be able to return.
According to the Gironde fire service in France, the blaze generated a rare “pyro cumulonimbus” cloud, creating its own winds and whirlwinds and making it “erratic and unmanageable”, said firefighter Capt.
Nicolas Braz.
Spanish authorities meanwhile ordered new evacuations near Toledo, south-west of Madrid.
Key events 1h ago Opening summary About 220,000 people have now been evacuated from the main forest fire raging in the south-west of France that threatens the city of Bordeaux, according to French authorities.
The latest evacuations have been in villages around Bordeaux while 60km (37 miles) of the main A63 highway from Bordeaux to the Spanish border has been closed because of the fires, regional authorities said.
Tens of thousands more people have been evacuated from other wildfires in France and central Spain.
Authorities have evacuated residents from several neighbourhoods in Marcheprime in south-western France because of the fast-moving wildfire spreading across the Gironde region.
Firefighters work to control a fire in Ares, France.
Their statement said gusting winds fed the flames overnight, accelerating the spread of the fire that has been burning out of control since midweek.
Hello and welcome back to our rolling coverage of the wildfires spreading through parts of Spain and France.
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