July 29, 2026, 5:07 PM EDTOver the past two weeks, wildfires in France and Spain burned through hundreds of square miles, displacing tens of thousands of locals and tourists.Large swaths of land near France’s Bordeaux and Spain’s Madrid and Valencia regions have burned. While it remains unclear how the fires started, officials attribute the blazes to climate change and record heat waves affecting Europe this summer. Parts of Portugal, Turkey and Greece have also been affected, and European Union leaders warn that the wildfires could spread farther east into Greece and Italy.The severity of the fires makes them difficult to combat. More than 2,200 firefighters and 20 aircraft are battling the blazes; two firefighters died Wednesday on the Greek island of Crete.Fellow E.U. countries, including Croatia, Czechia, Germany, Greece, Portugal and Sweden, have provided support to France and Spain, sending planes, helicopters, firefighters and other assistance.The sheer destruction of the fires is “the most severe we have ever recorded,” French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier this week. “The toughest since the Second World War. More than 160,000 hectares [617 square miles] have already burned, and the season is far from over.” The amount of land France has reported burned so far this year adds up to the largest burn area in the past 20 years and more than twice the acreage that burned in 2025. Spanish officials estimate that more than 664 square miles have burned so far this year, equivalent to twice the land area of New York City.“What we are experiencing is not a series of isolated incidents,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said. “It is the consequence of a climate emergency that is making wildfires even more violent, heat waves more frequent.”Bordeaux welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors each summer to explore its wine region. Under wildfire threat, more than 220,000 evacuated, just days before France hits its peak tourist season. As of Wednesday, Spain began lifting evacuation orders that had affected more than 60,000 people. However, wildfires in Turkey prompted officials there to issue evacuation notices Wednesday morning, affecting 200 residents and a state hospital.