Devastating European wildfires: maps, data, and the fight against the flames
Wildfires raging across France and Spain have forced over 300,000 people to evacuate, threatening military sites and wine regions as firefighters battle extreme conditions.
This summer's heatwaves across Europe have seen temperatures soar above 40°C in many areas. France has experienced more land burned this year than any other this century, while officials in the Spanish capital Madrid say the fires are the worst the region has ever recorded.
One of the hardest-hit areas is Gironde, near the French city of Bordeaux. More than 200,000 people have been forced from their homes as the fire swept through forests and fields in France's famous wine region. In less than four days, over 162 square miles (420 sq km) burned – an area roughly four times the size of Paris. The blaze is now just nine miles (15 km) from the southern outskirts of Bordeaux.
The flames have also threatened several sensitive military and industrial sites, including facilities handling French ballistic missiles, rocket motors, and hazardous chemicals.
The fires have become so extreme that they have generated their own fire thunderstorms. This rare weather phenomenon occurs when heat from the wildfire causes air to rise rapidly, carrying smoke, ash, and water vapor high into the atmosphere. This can produce lightning, potentially igniting new fires, and making conditions unpredictable.
French firefighters are using aircraft loaded with fire retardant, as well as Canadair planes that can scoop 6,000 litres of water from lakes or the sea in 12 seconds and drop it directly on the flames. On dangerous days, planes patrol high-risk areas before any fires are reported, ready to respond within minutes. On the ground, bulldozers and excavators are carving firebreaks – strips of land stripped of all vegetation – up to 100 meters wide in some areas.
In Gironde, about 2,500 firefighters, 1,500 military personnel, and 1,200 police officers and gendarmes are involved. Spanish teams are using similar techniques. Francisco Martin, a government delegate in Madrid, described the fires as "undoubtedly the largest fire in the history of the Madrid region."
The hotter, drier conditions caused by climate change have fueled these fires, allowing them to spread faster and burn more fiercely. Many on the ground in both France and Spain fear that the coming week could bring worsening conditions as high pressure is forecast to bring dry, settled, and increasingly hot temperatures.
