RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Firefighters in France and Spain are battling ferocious wildfires in an effort to control the blazes before the next heat wave arrives later this week.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday described the "completely unprecedented" crisis as the "toughest since the Second World War." He urged firefighters to "stay strong" as they prepared to face the wildfire in the Gironde region, near Bordeaux.
An estimated 220,000 people have been evacuated in the Gironde region, since the most pervasive fire broke out last week. The Landes region further south has seen at least 30,000 people evacuated.
The fire in Landes is now under control, Macron said, but he warned it "remains virulent" and urged extreme caution over the coming days.
"Our country is going through an unprecedented fire season: 116,085 hectares have already burned and 13,566 fire starts have been recorded since January," France’s Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Monday. (116,000 hectares is roughly 287,000 acres.)
In Spain, officials fighting the blazes near Madrid say they are the worst the region has ever experienced. Firefighters are also battling a wildfire in Castellón , a province near Valencia.
More than 100,000 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes or take shelter as emergency services attempt to get the flames under control in the face of changing winds.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez told reporters Tuesday that the authorities "can begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel" in the fight against the wildfires, but he expressed concern about the approaching heat wave.
The authorities "will continue to mobilize all resources until the last flame is extinguished," he vowed.
Sánchez has referred to the wildfire crisis as " the most painful expression" of the climate emergency.
As the European countries reckon with the remaining blazes and brace for the potential impact of the incoming heat wave, here are photos showing the devastation caused by the wildfires so far.
Deadly Wildfires in Western Europe Force Hundreds of Thousands to Evacuate
Beach-goers rest on the shore of Lake Lacanau as clouds of smoke rise into the sky from the Gironde wildfire in southwestern France on July 24, 2026. —Maximilien Lamy—AFP/Getty Images
A house in the aftermath of deadly wildfires in Bedar, Almeria, Spain on July 13, 2026. —Ana Beltran—Reuters
A local volunteer collects water from a swimming pool to combat an approaching fire in El Tiemblo, Spain on July 25, 2026. —Pablo Blazquez Dominguez—Getty Images
Students of David Gonzalez, who owns a Martial Arts gym, try to extinguish a fire outside of David's house as wildfires surround the village on July 24, 2026 in El Tiemblo, in Avila province, Spain. —Pablo Blazquez Dominguez—Getty Images
A firefighter comforts a local resident in the Tietar Valley area of Avila Province, Spain, on July 26, 2026. —Bruno Thevenin—eyevine/Xinhua/Redux
Residents spend the night at a bullring serving as a temporary shelter after being evacuated from their homes because of the threat of a wildfire in Valdemorillo, Madrid province, Spain, July 25, 2026. —Manu Fernandez—AP
Residents watch the flames on a hill as firefighters battle a wildfire at night in the Cebreros area of Spain on July 24, 2026. —Cesar Manso—AFP/Getty Images
A burning olive tree is pictured near Avila, west of Madrid on July 24, 2026. —Cesar Manso—AFP/Getty Images
People gather at an exhibition center being used for residents displaced by the wildfires, in Bordeaux, southwestern France on July 26, 2026. —Ed Jones—AFP/Getty Images
Firefighters collect water from a swimming pool while battling a fire surrounding the La Atalaya residential area in El Tiemblo, Spain on July 25, 2026. —Cesar Manso—AFP/Getty Images
Residents help to water the soil as a fire burns in San Martin de Valdeiglesias, about 70km west of Madrid, on July 26, 2026. —Oscar Del Pozo—AFP/Getty Images
Beach goers sit on the beach in Biscarosse, southwestern France as a cloud of smoke rises into the sky from a wildfire on July 23, 2026. —Maximilien Lamy—AFP/Getty Images
Evacuees rest in a sports hall in Villaviciosa de Odon, approximately 20 kms west of Madrid, amid historic wildfires on July 25, 2026. —Javier Soriano—AFP/Getty Images
—A group of people attempt to control a fire near Lacanau, as wildfires rage outside Bordeaux, France, on July 27, 2026.
Aftermath of a wildfire in Biscarrosse, southwestern France, which caused significant damage to buildings, businesses, and surrounding woodland, July 25, 2026. —Antonin Louis—Sipa/AP
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