Wildfires continued to burn across France and Spain in late July 2026, with crews bracing for a fourth heatwave of the summer expected to arrive on Wednesday, July 29, according to NPR and BBC News.
French President Emmanuel Macron called the situation the country's worst fire-related disaster since World War II. "France was facing a completely unprecedented fire," he said. The blaze in the Gironde region of southern France remained active as of July 27, and France's civil security agency described the fires as "far from being under control." Temperatures in the Gironde were forecast to reach 40°C (104°F) on July 29, and some residents there refused to comply with evacuation orders even as firefighters battled flare-ups in that heat.
In Spain, wildfires that broke out the week before July 28 had burned nearly 200,000 acres across the country. Three fires in the Madrid region caused special concern as of July 28, though two major fires in central Spain were coming under control by July 27. Temperatures across Spain were expected to exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit starting July 29. Some evacuated residents were allowed to return home by that date, even as fires in both countries continued to burn. Spanish politicians were also debating the role of climate change in driving the blazes.