Western Europe experiencing a wildfire emergency, July 2026

30 Jul 2026

Western Europe is experiencing a wildfire emergency, with hundreds of fires breaking out amid extreme heat.

Numerous fires have plagued southwestern France, with Gironde and Landes departments being the most impacted. The Gironde fire near Bordeaux has burned an area four times the size of Paris. Another large fire is burning near Madrid in Spain. It is largest wildfire in Spain’s recorded history.  Across both Spain and France, approximately 330,000 people were forced to evacuate. These 2 fires are now considered contained and some evacuation notices have been lifted. A wildfire in eastern England along the Suffolk coast began on Wednesday, July 29^th. It is burning just 4 miles from a nuclear power plant. Approximately 200 wildfires have broken out in England and Wales in the last 2 weeks. A large fire also broke out on the Greek island of Crete on Thursday, July 30^th. Thousands of people have evacuated and two firefighters killed.

Europe, the world’s fastest-warming continent, is experiencing a record-breaking summer, with extreme heat, dryness, and high winds creating dangerous fire conditions.