France Calls in EU Aircraft as Gironde Wildfire Becomes Largest of the Season, 60,000 Evacuated

Fire Near Bordeaux Now the Season's Biggest

Since the Saumos blaze broke out Wednesday near Bordeaux, France's wildfire crisis has escalated fast. The fire has consumed roughly 100 square kilometers, about 38 square miles. France's Interior Minister Laurent Nunez called it the largest fire of the season in the country.

The numbers keep climbing. Nunez said Friday that 40,000 people have been evacuated from the Gironde department, with another 23,000 evacuated further south in the Landes region. Combined with Spain's evacuations, total displacement across both countries is now estimated at 80,000 people.

That's up sharply from earlier tallies. The Indian Express, citing The Guardian, reported roughly 18,800 evacuated from the Gironde fire alone and about 30,000 total across France and Spain in an earlier count Friday. The gap reflects how fast the fire has grown throughout the day.

Cap Ferret Emptied by Boat

The Cap Ferret peninsula, a well-known tourist draw known for its beaches and oyster farms, has been evacuated entirely. Officials sent boats to pull roughly 400 people off the peninsula after the fire threatened to cut off the only road out.

Reuters spoke with Yoan Urien, a 26-year-old resident of Biscarrosse who left late Thursday after police ordered his neighborhood out. "From our home, we had a view of the fires," he said. "We could see the clouds becoming darker and darker." He said he found shelter with his pets but called the experience "quite a shock."

Nunez said 80 homes have burned in the fire, about 50 of them completely destroyed. Authorities have not reported any deaths from the blaze and believe both major French fires started accidentally. More than 800 firefighters are on the ground, backed by water-bombing aircraft.

EU Aircraft Inbound

France and Spain have both asked the European Union's Civil Protection Mechanism for help. Macron said France will receive two Croatian Canadair water bombers, two Portuguese Air Tractor planes, and heavy-lift Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Spain's Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said Italy and Greece are each sending two Canadair aircraft of their own. Macron posted on X that "the situation remains under very high tension in the face of the fires ravaging the country."

Madrid Under Emergency, Smoke Drifting Into the Capital

Spain declared a state of emergency in the Madrid region and neighboring Ávila province after multiple fires burned out of control roughly 60 miles from the capital. Around 10,000 people have been evacuated there, with the country's military emergency unit deployed to help.

Madrid residents woke up Friday to the smell of smoke drifting into the city from the fires. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez posted on X that "we are living through a dramatic situation, not only in various Spanish provinces but also in regions of neighboring countries."

Spain has already logged 22 major forest fires this year, defined as blazes burning more than 1,235 acres. Neither fire near Madrid was contained as of Friday, and officials warned that wind would complicate firefighting through the day.

The Heat Behind the Fires

None of this is happening in isolation. June 2026 was the hottest June on record for western Europe, driven by record sea surface temperatures. France recorded more than 5,700 excess deaths tied to its June heatwave, with some estimates putting the heat-related death toll across all of Europe near 10,000.

Temperatures were forecast to hit 102 degrees Fahrenheit in parts of Spain Friday. Climate researchers told The Guardian that a severe marine heatwave is currently gripping the Mediterranean, and that further extreme weather could produce what they described as "Dantesque" wildfire scenarios if conditions persist.

What happens next depends largely on wind. Spanish officials said shifting winds are the biggest variable in whether firefighters can get ahead of the two uncontained fires near Madrid before the weekend. In France, the road cutting off Cap Ferret remains the immediate concern for any residents still trying to get out, and authorities have not said when evacuated residents in Gironde or Landes might be allowed to return home.