Firefighters in France hold back vast wildfire as heat returns to test their grip
Firefighters in southwest France are struggling to contain a massive wildfire as rising temperatures and low humidity threaten to reignite stabilized areas. The blaze has already forced hundreds of thousands of evacuations and burned a vast area of land.
Why it matters
This event underscores the increasing frequency and severity of wildfires in Europe due to climate change and recurring heat waves.
Firefighters kept a vast wildfire in southwest France in check overnight into Tuesday (July 28, 2026), bringing flare-ups near Atlantic coast dunes under control in a crucial reprieve before returning heat and falling humidity threaten to test their hold on the blaze.
The fire remained stabilised at 6 a.m. after a calm night and the burned area was unchanged at 420 sq. kilometres, the Gironde prefecture said. The emergency now stretches across southwestern Europe.
Fires in France have forced roughly 3,30,000 people to evacuate, while Spain entered its fourth heat wave of the summer on Tuesday (July 28, 2026) with several blazes still out of control, including the largest ever recorded in the country.
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