RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 11 sourcesA firefighter using a hose to fight flames during a wildfire in Betxi in Spain on July 26.
Listen Summarise Wildfires threaten Bordeaux and have forced the evacuation of about 220,000 people in France and over 75,000 in Spain, with firefighters struggling to control the advancing flames. Spain faces multiple large blazes, including one in Castellon province spreading through a natural park, worsened by adverse weather and climate change effects. The EU and neighbouring countries have sent firefighting aid to Spain, while Spain declares a civil protection emergency to access more recovery funds amid record wildfire damage. AI generated
BORDEAUX/MADRID – Wildfires advanced towards the outskirts of the historic city of Bordeaux, at the heart of France’s winelands, on July 26 as France and Spain battled blazes that have forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people.
About 220,000 people have been evacuated in France , while more than 75,000 people in Spain have been evacuated from their homes and around 30,000 more ordered to shelter in place, according to the authorities.
In France, fires have ravaged the Cap Ferret peninsula on the Atlantic coast, a popular tourist destination, and spread through areas surrounding Bordeaux, where firefighters were trying to prevent the flames from reaching the regional capital.
“The fire is about 15km away from the entry points to the main city,” Bordeaux Mayor Thomas Cazenave said on July 2 6, while Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on X that the situation remained “difficult”.
In Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited fire-hit areas in Avila, one of three central provinces affected by major blazes alongside Madrid and Toledo, where more than 45,000ha have burned.
“We have a window of opportunity this weekend to fight the wildfire and, therefore, to protect lives, protect population centres and, ultimately, to bring this very serious wildfire under control as far as possible,” he said.
A separate blaze in Spain’s eastern Castellon province has ravaged over 4,300ha, regional authorities said.
“The fire is out of control – it’s very difficult to extinguish from a technical standpoint, especially because of the adverse weather conditions that will continue throughout the day,” the regional leader of Valencia, Juanfran Perez, told reporters near the site.
The wildfire has entered the Sierra de Espadan natural park containing large forests of pine trees and cork oaks.
The fires are the latest disasters linked to prolonged drought and successive heatwaves that scientists say have been intensified by climate change.
In both Bordeaux and Avila, July high temperatures have averaged 32 deg C, almost 6 deg C above the month’s normal high between 1961 and 1990, according to the Reuters Climate Monitor.
Under the European Union’s civil protection mechanism, Greece and Italy have each sent two Canadair firefighting aircraft to Spain, while Portugal has deployed more than 100 military personnel along with equipment.
Two more planes will arrive “as soon as possible” from Turkey, the Spanish Interior Ministry said on X.
Sanchez said his government would on J uly 28 declare a civil protection emergency for the central provinces plagued by the wildfires, unlocking additional recovery funding.
More than 150,000ha have burned across Spain since January, he said, six times the area destroyed during the same period in 2025 .
While wildfires have long been a feature of Spain’s summers, Sanchez said their growing scale and intensity, fuelled by increasingly extreme weather, required policies grounded in climate science.
In the highlands of Scotland, as many as 500 firefighters have been dealing with a large blaze within Cairngorms National Park since July 15.
Residents of the village of Nethy Bridge, who were evacuated on the evening of July 24 after a change in the weather conditions, were allowed to return to their homes late on July 25 .
Pope Leo, speaking from his summer residence of Castel Gandolfo outside Rome, offered spiritual support.
“In light of the devastating wildfires that have affected various areas of France and Spain in recent days, I wish to express my solidarity and closeness, and I invite everyone to pray for those affected and for the rescue workers engaged in relief efforts,” he said. REUTERS
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