Firefighters attempt to suppress a blaze in a forest as wildfires rage near Le Las, outside Bordeaux, France, Monday, July 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
French President Emmanuel Macron said on July 27 that a wildfire in the southwestern Landes region had been contained, but warned that a much larger blaze near Bordeaux remained difficult to control as France and Spain prepared for another heatwave.
More than 300,000 people have been evacuated across the two countries, according to European Union officials.
The fire in France’s Gironde region has burned 42,000 hectares over six days, forced around 220,000 people to leave their homes and holiday sites and destroyed at least 240 houses.
The blaze has also produced a rare pyrocumulonimbus cloud capable of generating its own winds and lightning, which can ignite further fires.
“The coming weeks will be tough and we have to hold out,” Macron said during a visit to an emergency center in Bordeaux.
He said the neighboring Landes fire, which prompted more than 30,000 evacuations, had been stabilized but remained active.
“It continues to be virulent. We must be extremely cautious over the next few hours and the coming days,” Macron said.
France has recorded 116,000 hectares of burned land since the start of the fire season, its highest figure since World War II, according to the president.
Temperatures were forecast to reach 40 degrees Celsius in parts of France from July 28, accompanied by dry winds that could hamper firefighting operations.
In Spain, around 60,000 people have been evacuated as fires continue to burn west of Madrid and in other parts of the country.
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said the coming hours would be “absolutely decisive” in efforts to contain the blazes before temperatures rise again.
Spain’s weather agency forecast a heatwave from July 29 until at least Aug. 2, with temperatures reaching 42 degrees Celsius in the northeast. It warned that fire danger would rise to extreme levels because of high temperatures, gusty winds and low humidity.
The EU has deployed seven planes and four helicopters to France. Six planes, 134 firefighters and 41 vehicles have been sent to Spain.
