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View all search resultsFrance and Spain race to contain fires before new heatwave
Blazes have ripped through vast swathes of woodland in both countries, incinerating properties and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people -- residents and tourists alike.
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A firefighter walks on a road on the edge of a burning area in Ares on July 26, 2026 as a wildfire has been ravaging the forest north of the Arcachon Basin (Gironde) since July 22. (AFP/Romain Perrocheux)
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irefighters in France and Spain rushed to contain the worst wildfires in living memory Tuesday, seizing crucial hours before the arrival of another wave of searing temperatures.
Blazes have ripped through vast swathes of woodland in both countries, incinerating properties and forcing the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people -- residents and tourists alike.
A large wildfire raging near the French winemaking capital of Bordeaux created a rare pyrocumulonimbus cloud -- a phenomenon that can create wind and lightning.
In the southwestern city's surrounding Gironde region, tractors fitted with blades to clear land, pickups towing water tanks and logging trucks sped to join a convoy of fire engines on Monday.
"We want to help... I want nature to stay like it is," said 25-year-old farmer and wood transporter Christopher Bonnefond.
New heatwaves are expected to hit western Europe this week, with searing temperatures returning in France from Tuesday, and in Spain from Wednesday, meteorologists said.
Temperatures were set to increase in the region from the afternoon and peak at 37 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, weather office Meteo France said.
Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said the coming hours would be "absolutely decisive" to tame fires burning west of the capital, Madrid.
In France, the focus was on the blaze near Bordeaux.
Firefighters said Tuesday the fire had not expanded overnight as they managed to tackle several flareups.
French President Emmanuel Macron warned of hard times ahead as he visited a crisis centre in the city on Monday.
"The coming weeks will be tough and we have to hold out," he said.
Over the past six days, the wildfire near Bordeaux has ravaged 42,000 hectares (103,000 acres), forced 220,000 people to flee and destroyed 240 houses.
"Mobilisation is still full and complete, particularly on the eve of a day that is expected to be marked by a significant rise in temperatures and a drop in humidity," the prefect of Gironde said late Monday, describing the situation as "highly unpredictable".
Temperatures in Bordeaux are forecast to reach 33 degrees Celsius (91 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day, around 7 degrees above the average high between 1961 and 1990, according to the Reuters Climate Monitor.
