Spain is battling the largest wildfire in its modern history, which has spread across approximately 77,000 hectares. This comes as the National Meteorological Agency (Aemet) issued a warning about the approach of the fourth heatwave of the season, with temperatures expected to significantly exceed 40 degrees throughout the week.
The high temperatures have arrived at one of the most challenging moments for Spain, which is in a state of emergency due to massive fires on the Iberian Peninsula. “Weather conditions for firefighting will worsen as we stand on the threshold of a new period of intense heat and low humidity,” warned Rubén del Campo, a spokesman for Aemet, in an interview with El País.
Intense heat and fire threat
Spain’s state meteorological agency Aemet announced a special heatwave warning on Monday, which will begin on Wednesday and last at least until next Sunday. The warning covers the entire country, with temperatures expected to exceed 36°C overall and surpass 40°C in the valleys and southern regions of the Iberian Peninsula.
“We do not expect rain this week, and due to this new heatwave, the danger of fires will again increase to very high or extreme levels across the country from Tuesday. This situation will persist or even worsen in the coming days,” stated the agency’s spokesman.
The wildfires have several hotspots in the Madrid region and neighboring provinces, creating a risk of merging into a massive fire around the capital. One of the largest fires in Ávila, northwest of Madrid, has spread across approximately 50,000 hectares. This is “the largest wildfire in modern history” in Spain, declared Minister of Ecological Transition Sara Aagesen. The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, warned that the country faces “difficult hours.”
After a brief period of respite, the heat returns to most of the country, especially from Tuesday. According to observations and forecasts, July 2026 could rival July 2022 as one of the hottest months on record, Aemet reported on the social network X on July 26, 2026.
Fires in France
Fires have also spread to other regions of Europe. On the Atlantic coast of France, near Bordeaux, firefighters are battling a phenomenon known as a “fire storm,” which makes the flames extremely difficult to control, explained Lieutenant Colonel Éric Brocardi, spokesman for the National Federation of Firefighters of France.
At the center of the fire, the temperature is so high that “it can cause everything in its path to ignite.” “Inside the fire, lightning forms, striking smoldering hotspots on the ground and continuing to fuel the spread of the fire,” stated Brocardi.
In Le Porge, between Bordeaux and the tourist area of Cap-Ferret, aerial photographs showed rows of destroyed houses and charred cars. “Nothing is left. Everything burned,” recounted Mathieu Plesse, returning to his village. In total, about 325,000 people have been evacuated due to fires in France and Spain.
President Emmanuel Macron convened a crisis meeting due to concerns that a new heatwave could worsen the situation. Although France is facing several active fires, the greatest concern is the fire near Bordeaux, which has already destroyed 42,000 hectares and forced the evacuation of 220,000 people.
Local residents are also helping to combat the aftermath of the disaster: farmers support firefighters with tractors, and residents take in people evacuated from fire-affected areas.
The massive fire near Bordeaux had “fewer active hotspots” on Monday than the day before. “We have fewer active hotspots than yesterday [Sunday]. Weather conditions are more favorable, with less wind,” stated Wilfrid Schneider, spokesman for the departmental fire and rescue service Sdis 33.
At the same time, he emphasized that it is too early to talk about complete stabilization of the situation. “We have stabilized a situation that was completely out of control, but we have not yet brought the fire under control,” he noted.
A light rain gave firefighters a short respite, but they are not letting their guard down ahead of a new heatwave expected this week. “All conditions are in place for the fire to resume,” stated Philippe de Gonneville, mayor of Lege-Cap-Ferret, a municipality affected since the start of the fire.
According to the prefecture, the fire destroyed 240 houses. There are no fatalities, but 84 firefighters were injured, ten of whom had to be evacuated.
According to AFP
