Here's the latest
• Mass evacuations: More than 300,000 people have been displaced by wildfires in France and Spain. French crews are battling flames in communities around Bordeaux, while Spanish firefighters work to consolidate their progress and stop new flare-ups in the Madrid region.
• Heat looms: Temperatures are expected to soar again in the hardest-hit areas this week, with no rain in sight, setting up a race against time before conditions worsen.
• On the ground: Many residents are waiting anxiously for news at temporary shelters, while CNN spoke to others who remained behind to try to protect their homes. Several French villages have been reduced to ghost towns. And residents in Spanish mountain regions say they’ve lost small towns that felt like an “oasis.”
• Climate crisis: Climate change is helping fuel wildfires across the continent, as heat waves leave landscapes parched.
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Scorched earth in the aftermath of Spanish wildfires
Sixty miles west of Madrid, the ground is still smoldering days after wildfires moved through. The heat of the conflagration in the town of San Martín de Valdeiglesias left smaller fires in the upper limbs of some pine trees, and coals glow at the bases of other trees.
The smoke remains thick in the air above the small town, and it’s impossible to walk in the surrounding woodland without a face mask. Authorities tell CNN that they are doing their best to contain wildfires elsewhere nearby, but that the changing winds have made firefighting difficult.
Tracking wildfires near Bordeaux and Madrid through maps
We’re closely following the latest developments as emergency crews race to contain wildfires in Spain and France, with temperatures expected to soar by midweek in the hardest-hit areas.
Here’s a closer look at the situation in two key fire zones:
France has staged its biggest peacetime evacuation since World War II as fires rage in the Gironde region. Many people are sheltering in Bordeaux, which is France’s sixth-most populous metropolitan area.
About 1 million people live in the metro area, according to census data, while only about 270,000 residents live within the city itself, according to World Population Review. The city’s mayor said earlier today that the municipality is not directly threatened, but surrounding communities have been evacuated.
Le Porge, a commune to the west of Bordeaux with 3,500 residents, has been devastated.
Meanwhile, in Spain, at least one person has died in the wildfires.
More than 100,000 people have been evacuated, including nearly 30,000 in the Madrid region alone, according to Spain’s Interior Ministry.
A key focus for Spanish firefighters has been keeping two wildfires west of the capital from merging, according to local media.
CNN’s Issy Ronald, Pau Mosquera, Renée Rigdon, Niamh Kennedy, Allison Chinchar, Tim Lister, Oliver Sherwood and Melissa Bell contributed to this report.
Hundreds of tourists in Italy evacuated by Coast Guard due to fire
The Italian Coast Guard said Sunday that it rescued over 400 tourists and swimmers from a fire in Apulia, on Italy’s southeast coast.
The fire at Cala Manacore, a seaside location within the municipality of Peschici, left no escape route except by sea, the Coast Guard said in a post on Facebook. Several private vessels deployed to help in evacuating people, it added.
The Coast Guard included a video of rescue operations alongside its statement, showing people swimming out to meet boats offshore while smoke curls in the distance, with a sea plane landing nearby.
CNN has reached out to the Italian Coast Guard for more details.
Where wildfires are burning across Europe
Wildfires in Spain and France have been among Europe’s most devastating, displacing more than 300,000 people.
As crews scramble to contain those fires, other blazes are burning across the continent. Here’s a wider look:
“It’s an enormous disaster”: Madrid wildfire forces 30,000 evacuations
On the edge of Navas del Rey, a Spanish town of 3,400 people in the Madrid region, a thick column of smoke rises into the sky.
It is the trail left by the wildfire that has been burning through mountainous areas in the Community of Madrid since Thursday, already leaving thousands of hectares scorched.
The town itself is deserted after fire swept through on Friday, forcing authorities to evacuate the entire population until further notice. The damage is visible along several stretches of the town’s entrance, where charred shrubs line the roadside and the ground has turned black.
According to Spain’s Interior Ministry, nearly 30,000 people have been evacuated across the Community of Madrid. Emergency crews are hoping to bring the wildfire under control as quickly as possible.
At the main entrance to Navas del Rey, members of the Guardia Civil and Civil Protection stand guard, blocking access. Every so often, however, a resident approaches, like Óscar Domínguez, who tells CNN through tears that he has come to collect medication for his mother.
A short distance down the road are two gas stations, both closed. Leaning against the wall of one of them is Marta Oprea, accompanied by her husband and their Rottweiler. Since Friday, they have been moving from place to place in their van, including emergency shelters set up by the authorities.
Crews work to contain wildfires before temperatures climb again this week
We continue to track the latest developments after wildfires in France and Spain displaced more than 300,000 people.
After a brief reprieve this weekend, temperatures across both of the countries’ fire zones will start climbing again tomorrow and reach abnormally hot levels by midweek.
Gusty winds have eased, however, and will remain light through at least Tuesday, helping firefighters as they work to increase containment before conditions shift.
Here’s the latest:
- France has staged its biggest peacetime evacuation since World War II, as people continue to seek shelter in the southwestern city of Bordeaux. The Bordeaux metropolitan area is France’s sixth-most populous, and while the city’s mayor said the municipality is not directly threatened, surrounding communities have been evacuated.
- Le Porge, a commune with 3,500 residents located north of the popular holiday spot Cap Ferret in southwest France, has been devastated. CNN spoke to some residents in the region who decided to stay behind and help fight the fires.
- The battle against wildfires raging near Madrid has developed “very positively,” Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told reporters, but “there are still some difficult hours ahead” before the most dangerous areas can be stabilized.
- Sánchez also warned of “fake news” circulating online about the wildfires and urged people to listen to official channels for their updates.
- Today’s final stage of the Tour de France has been shortened, after organizers said security personnel were redeployed by France’s Interior Ministry to tackle the fires.
- Pope Leo XIV expressed solidarity with those affected by the wildfires in France and Spain during today’s Angelus prayer at Castel Gandolfo.
- French police say they have arrested a person on suspicion of stealing 44 bottles of wine from a property evacuated due to the wildfires.
CNN’s Issy Ronald, Niamh Kennedy, Allison Chinchar, Tim Lister, Oliver Sherwood and Melissa Bell contributed to this report.
What things look like on the ground during marathon response to wildfires
We’ve seen more striking imagery today from both Spain and France as firefighters race to protect communities and extinguish the flames from the wildfires tearing through parts of southwest Europe.
Billowing smoke, aerial firefighting efforts and frantic evacuations have played out across both countries this weekend. See more photos from the wildfires here.
“We’re just trying to protect our homes,” residents fighting France’s wildfires tell CNN
In the four short days since wildfires broke out here in Lège Cap Ferret in southwestern France, an immeasurable amount of damage has been done.
Many pine tree forests have been all but ravaged by blazes described by France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez as “extremely virulent.”
On Sunday, we saw hordes of locals using trucks to try and dump water on still smoldering trees.
And it’s not just the native pine trees which are highly combustible, the fires have also been raging through the nearly one million hectares of bracken and fern which make up the Gironde region’s monoculture.
Charming coastal villages like Lège Cap Ferret, long havens for holidaymakers from France and further afield, are now practically ghost towns.
It’s undoubtedly eerie walking around these deserted locations, emptied of the tourists who frequent during the busy summer period.
The largest evacuation orders carried out in France since World War II have left nearly 220,000 people displaced in the region.
The few locals who have remained are locked into a Sisyphean battle to try and save their land. As firefighters focused on the blaze headed towards the city of Bordeaux, it fell to residents like Luc to contain the flames.
With two fellow residents, we spotted Luc using a hose mounted on a pick up loaded with gerry-cans to try and extinguish the resurfacing flames
As authorities in the city of Bordeaux prepare for the fire’s likely spread, it is likely that evacuation orders will soon be issued, spelling more disruption for this troubled part of southwest France.
Wildfires leave trail of destruction in southwest France
Le Porge, a commune with 3,500 residents located north of the popular holiday spot Cap Ferret in southwest France has been badly damaged after wildfires tore through the seaside town earlier this week, as the footage above shows.
More than 100 homes in Le Porge were destroyed or damaged by the fire, the municipal councillor said yesterday, as blazes rage in southern France.
Tour de France final stage shortened due to wildfires
Today’s final stage of the Tour de France has been shortened, after organizers said security personnel were redeployed by France’s Interior Ministry to tackle the ongoing wildfires.
The peloton will only race the final finishing circuit through central Paris, rather than start in Thoiry, a town just outside the French capital.
This will reduce the pressure on the emergency services, while shortening the the Stage 21 route by 44 kilometers, organizers added.
For context: Huge numbers of police officers accompany the riders throughout the Tour de France, securing anywhere between roughly 100 kilometers and 200 kilometers of road almost every day for three weeks.
French police make arrest after 44 bottles of wine taken from evacuated home
French police say they have arrested an individual on suspicion of stealing 44 bottles of wine from a property evacuated due to the wildfires.
The suspect is now in custody and an investigation underway after they were discovered in the Bordeaux suburb of Eysine yesterday. Residents there were asked to leave on Friday.
“The national police also remain mobilized to ensure the security of evacuated homes,” they added, in a post on X.
CNN affiliate BFMTV reported the suspect was found with 44 bottles of Grand Cru wine in their possession.
Pope Leo expresses solidarity with those affected by wildfires
Pope Leo XIV expressed solidarity with those affected by the wildfires in France and Spain, during today’s Angelus prayer at Castel Gandolfo.
He called for prayers for the victims and emergency workers battling the blazes.
Sanchez warns of “fake news” about wildfires, urges people to follow official channels
More now from Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has warned of “fake news” circulating online about the wildfires, instead urging people to listen to official channels for their updates.
“Sadly, we’re seeing a lot of fake news during this emergency…And all that does is create more worries and more anxiety for people,” he told reporters, referencing baseless hoaxes which have claimed to explain the causes of the fires.
Sánchez previously expressed a dislike for social media, describing it as something that “was supposed to bring unity, clarity and democracy” but “instead (has) given us division, vice and a reactionary agenda” when announcing Spain’s ban on social media for children under the age of 16.
“Difficult hours ahead” in fight to tackle wildfires, Spanish PM says
Efforts to contain wildfires raging near Madrid developed “very positively” but “there are still some difficult hours ahead” before the most dangerous areas can be stabilized, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told reporters today.
“We are working to consolidate certain areas where it appears the fires may already have been contained and extinguished,” Sánchez said, as he visited areas in Avila affected by the fires.
That echoed the update given by Lt. Col Alfonso Arribas, who leads the Military Emergency Unit responsible for managing the fire response.
“We hope that today’s conditions will allow us to work on those specific areas that remain out of control. However, this certainly does not apply to the entire perimeter,” he added.
The wildfire season is worsening, Sánchez said, pointing out that the total area burnt this year had increased from 130,000 to 150,000 hectares (502 to 579 square miles) in less than 24 hours.
Hot temperatures to return to Spain and France fire zones
After a brief reprieve this weekend, temperatures across the Spain and France fire zones will start climbing again tomorrow and reach abnormally hot levels by midweek.
Temperatures this weekend in both countries have been 10 degrees Celsius (nearly 20 degrees Fahrenheit) cooler this weekend than last week, with highs in the mid- to upper 20s Celsius (upper 70s to low 80s Fahrenheit).
However, temperatures will rebound and peak again by Tuesday and Wednesday, climbing a few degrees above average back to the mid 30s (upper 90s Fahrenheit) in many parts of Spain and France.
Temperatures as high as the upper 30s (100F) are possible around Madrid on Tuesday and Wednesday. The hotter temperatures could last a few days in France but linger longer in Spain.
Light rain this weekend – less than 20 mm (less than 1 inch) – missed the largest fire zones in southwestern France and central Spain, and no rain is in the forecast there for at least the next five days.
Gusty winds have eased and will remain light through at least Tuesday, helping firefighters as they work to increase fire containment.
More residents displaced in France’s biggest ever post-war evacuation. Here’s the latest
More than 300,000 people in France and Spain have now been evacuated from areas threatened by fierce wildfires, fueled by weeks-long, climate change-driven heat waves.
France has staged its biggest peacetime evacuation since World War II, as people continue to seek shelter in the southwestern city of Bordeaux.
Here’s the latest:
- Temperatures in France and Spain are set to soar this week and no rain is forecast for the regions ravaged by wildfires in recent days, according to local meteorologists.
- French authorities issued further evacuation orders overnight. At the start of the night, the fire burning in the Gironde region became “extremely virulent and unpredictable again, generating its own wind and spreading erratically toward the Bordeaux metropolitan area,” but calmed down somewhat by the morning, France’s interior minister Laurent Nuñez said earlier on X.
- Thousands of firefighters, police officers, military personnel and volunteers have been mobilized to fight the blaze and assist evacuation efforts, Nuñez added.
- Bordeaux’s mayor Thomas Cazenave sought to reassure residents this morning, telling CNN affiliate BFMTV there is no evacuation planned for the city since the fire currently doesn’t threaten it.
- An exhibition center in Bordeaux has become an emergency shelter, housing around 7,000 evacuees, who are sleeping on rows of cots in the enormous hall.
- In Spain, at least one person has died as fierce wildfires burn there. More than 100,000 people have been evacuated, Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE reported as firefighters battled overnight to keep two wildfires west of the capital Madrid from merging, according to local media.
CNN’s Melissa Bell, Pierre Bairin and Laura Sharman contributed reporting.
A look at Bordeaux, as firefighters battle to stop wildfires spreading to French city
Firefighters are battling to keep the wildfires burning through the Gironde region from threatening the French city of Bordeaux.
Together with its surrounding towns and suburbs, Bordeaux is home the country’s sixth-largest metropolitan population.
Several towns have been evacuated but the city itself is currently not threatened by the fires, Mayor Thomas Cazenave told BFMTV, though one resident described staying inside with the windows shut to keep the smoke out, and the sky turning yellow.
About 1 million people live within the city’s metropolitan area, according to census data, and about 270,000 of those live within the city itself, according to World Population Review.
Important settlements have existed here since the Roman times, when it was described by the writer Ausonius as one of Gaul’s great educational centers.
That rich history, cultivated over centuries of acting as a port and hub of cultural exchange, is visible throughout the city, much of which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The region is particularly famous for the wine it produces, a tradition which also dates back to the Roman era. The varieties of wine produced in the area, which include Margaux, Sauternes and Médoc, are known as some of the best and most popular in the world.
For now, the 2026 vintage of these wines is safe, one local expert told CNN. Vineyards haven’t been impacted by the fires at the moment, and the grapes are not yet large enough to absorb wildfire smoke – a phenomenon known in winemaking as “smoke taint,” said Nicolle Croft, a wine expert and tour guide based in Bordeaux.
CNN’s Max Saltman contributed reporting.
Residents of French town return to find devastation and destroyed homes
Residents of one village in the Gironde region of France returned to find their homes charred and destroyed by the wildfire which has ripped through them.
“Everything burned down,” one resident Mathieu Plessis told CNN affiliate BFMTV, standing in front of his blackened, burnt-out house. “It was my ancestors’ house, my grandmother was born in this house. We are devastated. In Le Porge, we have lost everything.”
All that is left are three chickens and a few fish which managed to survive the fire.
French authorities said last night that 140 homes in the Gironde region have been destroyed by the wildfire, though that number could rise once it is possible to return to all the affected areas.
Le Porge is a town of about 3,000 inhabitants situated close to the Atlantic coast. Much of the ground there has turned black with ash and many cars have been reduced to empty shells of twisted metal. It is almost unrecognizable from the small, quintessentially French town that existed before.
The random nature of the destruction caused by wildfires means that not every house burnt down.
“To put it simply, we feel that everything our forebears left us – all the work they accomplished – is being reduced to nothing,” he added.
Europe's wet winter could have fueled summer wildfires
An abnormally wet winter in Europe — with long-lasting rain and frequent storms in January and February — is likely a factor in the wildfires.
The high moisture during winter would have spurred growth in grasses, brush and other vegetation. Then temperatures turned record-hot in Western Europe in May, just as France and Spain’s precipitation fell off a cliff, leading to drought.
Because the rain stopped at the exact same time temperatures surged, the moist soils dried out at unprecedented speeds. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as a “flash drought,” or one that takes hold very fast.
Research shows the warming effect of climate pollution has significantly increased the frequency and extent of flash droughts in Europe. The hotter atmosphere acts like a dry sponge that greedily soaks up soil moisture, creating the drought that fuels wildfires.
More residents evacuated overnight, taking total displaced to more than 300,000
French and Spanish authorities issued further evacuation orders overnight, taking the total number of people displaced to 300,000.
In France’s Gironde region, another 55,000 were evacuated from some towns surrounding Bordeaux, taking the total who have now left their homes there to more than 220,000, according to authorities.
At least 68 firefighters have been injured while battling the blaze, they said.
And in Spain, some towns much further west than the other areas affected were evacuated, the country’s interior ministry said. It’s unclear how many people that operation involved, but Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE reported this morning that more than 100,000 people have been evacuated due to the wildfires so far.
Meanwhile, in France’s Landes region, 3,000 residents were allowed to return to some neighborhoods in the town of Biscarrosse, state authorities said.
