France and Spain Race to Contain Wildfires as Another Heatwave Looms
By Janis Laizans and Emma Pinedo
BORDEAUX/MADRID, July 27 (Reuters) — Firefighters across southwestern France and central Spain seized a brief window of milder weather on Monday to battle raging wildfires that have already forced more than 300,000 people from their homes, as meteorologists warned of a fresh heatwave expected to hit both countries by the end of the week.
The blazes, which erupted last week near France's Atlantic coast and in several Spanish provinces, have stretched emergency resources and reignited debate over how Europe should adapt to what scientists describe as a climate-driven surge in extreme fire behavior.
In the Bordeaux region, France's President Emmanuel Macron visited firefighters on the front lines, thanking them for their efforts while cautioning that the battle was far from over. "We must hold on. We are going to win this battle together. The whole nation is behind you," he said.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu described the current wildfire season as unprecedented, with the total burned area already exceeding the previous record set in 2022. "Nine out of 10 fires are human-caused and most arise from carelessness," he wrote on social media, urging the public to adopt stricter preventive measures.
In eastern Spain, firefighters faced an especially hazardous situation in Vall d'Uixo, in the Castellón province, where the ground is littered with unexploded ordnance from the Spanish Civil War. Chevi Bolumar, fire chief of the Valencian regional government, told public broadcaster TVE that flames in the area have triggered explosions, complicating containment efforts.
The French fires came within 15 kilometers of entry points to the main metropolitan area of Bordeaux, and local officials reported that 80 firefighters had been injured while battling the flames.
LOCALS SUFFER 'EMOTIONAL LOSS'
In Spain, authorities said the spread of large fires converging in central Spain slowed overnight, but the blaze in Castellón remained out of control. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez warned that the crisis was not a string of isolated incidents but rather a painful manifestation of the climate emergency. "What we're experiencing ... is the most painful expression of a climate emergency that is making sixth-generation wildfires more ferocious, heatwaves more frequent, and our territory more vulnerable," he said on Monday.
Maria Angeles Serrano, an evacuee in Castellón, said the emotional toll ran deep. "Material damage is one thing, but that can be repaired, so to speak. What really hurts is the emotional loss," she said, referring to the destruction of forests and wildlife.
BORDEAUX VINEYARDS SPARED, FOR NOW
Finance Minister Roland Lescure acknowledged that the wildfires had delivered a shock to the tourism-dependent economy of southwestern France, but noted that the prized Bordeaux vineyards have so far been spared. Christophe Chateau, communications director at the Bordeaux wine industry association CIVB, said drought — not fire — remained the sector's biggest concern this season.
In central Spain, three active fronts burned in the mountains northwest of Madrid, across the provinces of Madrid, Toledo and Ávila. The blaze in Ávila has been classified as the largest wildfire in recent Spanish history, according to local authorities.
"Today and tomorrow are absolutely crucial days in tackling this wildfire. From Wednesday onwards, weather forecasts become significantly more unfavourable," said Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska.
France faces a similar timeline. The weather office said temperatures in the Bordeaux area would dip slightly on Monday before climbing back to as high as 37°C (98.6°F) later in the week. Data from the Reuters Climate Monitor shows that July high temperatures in both Bordeaux and Ávila have averaged 32°C (90°F), almost 6°C above the historical norm for the month between 1961 and 1990.
RESPONSE UNDER SCRUTINY
The scale of destruction across Europe this summer is putting firefighting resources under severe strain and prompting questions about whether nations are adequately prepared for a future of more frequent, more intense blazes. Aircraft from Turkey, Italy and Greece, as well as a Portuguese wildfire intervention team, have joined Spanish containment efforts. Switzerland sent two Super Puma helicopters and their crews to assist France following a formal request from Paris.
The crisis has also amplified calls for long-term adaptation strategies, including better land management, early warning systems, and increased investment in firefighting infrastructure. With the peak of the European summer still ahead, officials on both sides of the Pyrenees acknowledge that the worst may not yet be over.
(Reporting by Gabriel Stargardter, Sybille de la Hamaide, Sudip Kar-Gupta, Dominque Vidalon, Inti Landauro, Manuel Ausloos, Elizabeth Howcroft, Yves Hermann, David Latona, Emma Pinedo, Javi West Larrinaga and Emma Farge. Writing by Keith Weir. Editing by Andrei Khalip)