"It has been a horrendous fire, a brutal one - it's a monster that has run over us," said a Spanish mayor, describing the devastation left behind by the flames.
A man and his dog look at a wildfire in a mountain in Onda, Spain, Jul 27, 2026. (Photo: Reuters/Pedro Nunes)
29 Jul 2026 05:41AM
NAVAS DEL REY, Spain: Spanish residents forced to flee some of the worst wildfires in living memory began returning to their homes on Tuesday (Jul 28) but thousands more were ordered to leave in France over fears that a looming heatwave would prevent containment of fires that have ripped through the country's southwest.Swathes of tinder-dry forests, parched land and property have been destroyed west of the Spanish capital, Madrid, and in France's Gironde and Landes regions, forcing tens of thousands to head to safety.Spain's interior ministry announced the end of evacuation orders for 15 municipalities on Tuesday afternoon in rare good news.In the evacuated village of Navas del Rey, AFP reporters saw blackened debris, ash and burnt-out cars.According to an initial estimate provided to AFP by municipal authorities, around 50 homes were destroyed by the flames and another 50 damaged. Maria Paz Bolanos, 62, returned with her family to their home and garden in a housing development in the town - and found it only slightly scorched."We've been here 50 years," she said. "It must have been my grandfather, my father in heaven. He somehow made it so the fire just came in through and stopped right there."It's a miracle."The mayor of nearby Pelayos de la Presa, Antonio Sin, described the scene as "a war zone"."It has been a horrendous fire, a brutal one - it's a monster that has run over us," he told AFP.In contrast, Marielle Mourgeon was among 4,000 people forced to cut short holidays in the French seaside village of Lacanau, in the Gironde area near Bordeaux, after camping sites were told to evacuate as a precaution."At first I thought my husband was joking, with the blue sky and the fires dying down," she said.
