European wildfires force tens of thousands to evacuate as heat wave hits Spain, France and Italy
Severe forest fires across Spain, France and Italy have prompted evacuations of up to 12,000 people, with Spain declaring a national emergency and France activating EU civil protection assistance.
Forest fires sweeping through Spain, France and Italy have forced tens of thousands of residents to leave their homes as a heat wave brings temperatures near 40 °C. In Spain, a national emergency was declared for the Madrid region and the province of Ávila, transferring response duties to the military emergency unit and accelerating resource deployment. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the government had mobilised all available assets to combat the blazes affecting several provinces and visited a fire-damaged area in Guadalajara where more than 30 villages were evacuated.
In France, President Emmanuel Macron announced the activation of the EU civil protection mechanism, requesting assistance that includes aircraft from Croatia, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Authorities evacuated 7,000 people as a precaution in the Cap Ferret area, raising the total number of evacuees there to 12,000, after fires burned roughly 2,000 hectares.
Italy reported around 6,000 firefighters and other personnel deployed in Sicily, with about 50 fires still active despite water-bombing aircraft. In Calabria, officials recorded over 160 fires and accused “malicious individuals” of arson, citing evidence of flammable materials attached to stray cats.
The surge in wildfires follows a year in which fire-affected land in Europe has already exceeded the two-decade average, a trend attributed to climate change increasing the frequency and intensity of heatwaves and related fires.