Key facts
- Total evacuation of Cap Ferret peninsula ordered due to wildfire.
- Wildfires have burned over 10,000 hectares in Gironde, France.
- 40,000 people evacuated from the Gironde region.
- A second fire near Biscarrosse has burned over 2,500 hectares, evacuating 23,000 people.
- Spain declared a national emergency due to multiple wildfires.
Authorities in southwestern France have ordered the complete evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula, a popular tourist destination on the Atlantic coast, as an "intense and highly unpredictable" wildfire advances. The blaze has consumed over 10,000 hectares (24,700 acres) and forced the evacuation of 40,000 people, including thousands of tourists from campsites and rental homes. Boats are ferrying people off the peninsula as the only road link remains restricted.
Brutal heat, exacerbated by climate breakdown, has fueled the wildfires. Spain has also declared a national emergency, with uncontrolled blazes threatening communities near Madrid and Ávila, leading to the evacuation of over 10,000 people. The regional government of Madrid described the situation as one of "extreme gravity."
Approximately 800 firefighters and four water-bombing planes are battling the Gironde fire, which started near the village of Saumos. Eighty houses have been destroyed. A second fire near Biscarrosse has burned over 2,500 hectares, prompting the evacuation of 23,000 people, including from campsites, holiday homes, a children's camp, and a care home. Farmers have been asked to contribute water tanks.
President Emmanuel Macron has activated the EU's civil protection mechanism, seeking reinforcements from Croatia, Portugal, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. Nuñez reported 32 wildfires across France, scorching 50,000 hectares, a significant increase from the previous year. Data from the European Forest Fire Information System indicates that by July 22, nearly twice as much land had been burned in the EU compared to the average over the past two decades.