Military mobilised as wildfires force mass evacuations across Spain and France

Military reinforcements deployed

Massive wildfires burning out of control in Spain and France have forced the evacuation of more than 200,000 people, with both countries deploying military resources to assist exhausted firefighting crews battling blazes near Madrid and Bordeaux.

Thick black ash blanketed roof terraces across northern Madrid on Saturday, with residents forced to keep windows shut against throat-irritating smoke. In Bordeaux, approximately 3,500 displaced residents and holidaymakers sought shelter in the city's trade show complex, many uncertain when they could return home.

The fires have been raging for several days, pushing firefighting teams to their limits. French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez reported that flames had consumed nearly 98,000 hectares across France, describing it as a "historic record" covering an area nearly ten times the size of Paris. The 2026 European wildfire season has already burned approximately 169,000 hectares since June 1, representing about 346% of the typical amount for this point in the season, according to satellite data from the European Forest Fire Information System.

Military reinforcements deployed

French President Emmanuel Macron deployed 1,000 soldiers to reinforce firefighting operations near Bordeaux. The government also ordered the deployment of an A400M military transport aircraft fitted with experimental firefighting equipment. The aircraft can discharge 20 tonnes of fire retardant in under ten seconds, equivalent to the capacity of two Dash firefighting aircraft. The deployment followed a July 17 agreement between Airbus Defence and Space and French government ministries, with the aircraft rushed into service after completing preparations and testing.

The A400M's firefighting system uses a removable roll-on/roll-off module that requires no structural modification to the aircraft, allowing it to return to military transport duties after firefighting operations. Around 100 firefighters from the Paris fire brigade were dispatched to the southwest on Saturday, joining 45 firefighters and six vehicles already deployed from the capital.

Spain and France have both requested and received European Union assistance, with aircraft arriving from other member countries to support firefighting efforts.

Evacuations escalate

At least 167,000 people have been evacuated in France, according to Minister Nunez. In Spain, the interior ministry reported more than 45,000 evacuations, with at least 20,000 additional residents ordered to remain indoors. Emergency shelters were established in schools and gymnasiums across southwestern France.

We had no one to put us up

said Caroline Larrode, 49, who fled her home in Saumos with her three cats to shelter in a Bordeaux hangar housing evacuees from the Arcachon Basin.

The fires west of Madrid have consumed up to 25,000 hectares, according to Spain's interior ministry. Two of three major wildfires have merged, threatening to create a massive inferno just kilometres from the capital. Carlos Novillo, a Madrid regional government official, stated on Friday that the fire front was "at its peak and currently beyond the capacity of firefighters to contain".

Cultural heritage threatened

Smoke shrouded the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial on Saturday, the UNESCO World Heritage Site completed in 1584 that serves as the royal pantheon for Spanish monarchs. The 16th-century monastery, commissioned by King Philip II, stands among the cultural treasures threatened by the advancing flames.

Spanish government delegate in Madrid, Francisco Martin, warned on Saturday that "erratic gusts" were complicating containment efforts, though he expressed cautious optimism that falling temperatures offered "a real opportunity" to gain control.

Climate crisis deepens

The rapid spread of the wildfires reflects tinderbox conditions exacerbated by successive heatwaves that have struck both countries since May. The number of wildfires in Spain and Portugal combined more than doubled from 2025 to 2026, according to World Health Organization data. France has recorded more than 12,500 wildfire ignitions and 44,000 hectares burned since January 2026.

The crisis forms part of a multi-year worsening trend. Wildfires destroyed 2.2 million hectares of land in the WHO European Region in 2025, up 57% from 1.4 million hectares in 2022.

Europe has warmed by approximately 0.53°C per decade since the mid-1990s, more than twice the global average of 0.26°C per decade, according to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service. The continent has experienced an overall temperature increase of around 2.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels, significantly exceeding the global average increase of 1.4°C.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, visiting the fire zone near Madrid, said the priority was to "save lives" while warning that a "complex" fight lay ahead. His government has declared a national emergency.

So far, no civilian deaths have been reported, though two French firefighters died earlier this week near Bordeaux.