Wildfires in Spain and France hit the world's two largest wine-growing nations

MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Wednesday, July 29th 2026 - 07:46 UTC

In France, more than 160,000 hectares have burned and some 13,566 fires or outbreaks have been recorded so far this season

The wildfires affecting Spain and France since mid-July have reached an unprecedented scale in both countries, which together account for nearly a quarter of the world's vineyard area. Spain declared a national wildfire emergency for the first time, while French President Emmanuel Macron described the situation as the most severe recorded in his country since the Second World War.

In France, more than 160,000 hectares have burned and some 13,566 fires or outbreaks have been recorded so far this season, according to official figures. The largest blaze, in the Gironde department west of Bordeaux, scorched around 42,000 hectares and prompted the biggest peacetime evacuation since the Second World War. Authorities describe it as stabilized but not contained, and warn it could burn for weeks or months.