Other European Union countries have been sending help to Spain and France in the form of aircraft, fire crews and vehicles.
A firefighter of the Paris Fire Brigade strikes the smouldering debris with a shovel in Marcheprime west of Bordeaux on Jul 26, 2026 as a wildfire has been ravaging the forest north of the Arcachon Basin (Gironde) since Jul 22. (Photo: AFP/Romain Perrocheau)
26 Jul 2026 07:14PM
(Updated: 26 Jul 2026 09:13PM)
BORDEAUX: France fought an "unpredictable" wildfire close to Bordeaux on Sunday (Jul 26) while Spain warned of "difficult hours" in its own fiery battle, with evacuations from danger zones in both countries mounting to well over 300,000 people.The forest infernos, raging for days unchecked in France's southwest and in central Spain near Madrid, were among the worst each nation has seen in peacetime.France's major fire remained unchecked and volatile - driven by gusts that in some cases were generated by the turbulent blazes themselves.Spanish officials, however, voiced optimism they were starting to get a grip on some fires - though on the weekend they were confronted with a new fire front, near the eastern coastal city of Valencia, which forced 15,000 people to flee."Difficult hours lie ahead admittedly," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said as he visited the fire zone in Avila province west of Madrid, though he pointed to some "positive" indications towards containment.Other European Union countries have been sending help to Spain and France in the form of aircraft, fire crews and vehicles.Scientists say that such weather emergencies are being made more extreme and frequent by climate change.The disasters, coming at the peak of the summer vacation period when tourists flock to both countries, were fuelled by woodlands parched to tinder by successive heatwaves and lack of rain since May."When we flew into Madrid we could see the fire very close to the airport," said Pilar, a 69-year-old New Zealand tourist. She said she was carrying a mask in case the smoke situation in the city became worse.Letisha Lucas, a 33-year-old tourist from Canada - which has its own wildfires happening - said the smoke smell was immediately obvious on arrival in Madrid "and very irritating on the throat". She added that the proximity of the blaze left her "kind of nervous".
