• ‘Most severe’ since World War II: French President Emmanuel Macron said his country was battling the “most severe” situation since World War II. As of early Tuesday, military engineers were working alongside firefighters to battle the blazes in the hard-hit Gironde region
• Mass evacuations in Spain:Authorities say more than 63,000 people have been evacuated from their homes near Madrid. In eastern Spain, ordnance left over from the country’s civil war almost a century ago is a further threat to firefighters there
• No weather respite: France’s weather office issued heatwave alerts for the hard-hit Gironde and Landes regions on Tuesday, forecasting hot, dry weather and no rain. Track the wildfires here
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Authorities in France over the weekend warned tourists not to travel to the country’s wildfire-hit southwest but sought to reassure visitors that other regions remain unaffected by the flames
Sophie Brocas, prefect of the badly affected French region of Gironde, said on Sunday, “I urge tourists not to come,” while advising those already there to consider an alternative destination
Meanwhile, Éléonore Caroit, France’s minister for international partnerships, urged tourists not to cancel their holiday plans and emphasized that most of the country remains untouched
In Spain, Madrid region’s local government warned against trips to impacted areas, including reservoirs “near the affected spaces.” But no blanket travel ban has been issued
The UK’s Foreign Office called on those in affected areas, including Spain’s Ávila and Madrid regions and France’s Gironde and Landes regions, to follow instructions from local authorities and emergency services “at all times.”
It has not warned against travel to the two countries but rather suggests tourists should check with their accommodation and travel provider before traveling
Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Spain issued updated advice for US citizens in affected parts of the country on Saturday, warning against all “unnecessary travel.”
“Local authorities continue to operate under a national emergency alert for wildfires on the outskirts of Madrid. All are urged to avoid unnecessary travel to facilitate the work of emergency services,” the embassy posted on its website
The embassy also shared advice from local authorities, who asked those in harm’s way to keep indoors with doors and windows closed, avoid outdoor exercise, consider wearing a mask when outside and stay hydrated
CNN’s Joseph Ataman and Daniel Olivares Gallego contributed reporting
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Heavy blaze from wildfire spreads across Spain’s Castellon province.
Emergency crews are still scrambling to contain ferocious blazes in Spain and France, where authorities have warned wildfires could burn for several months before they are fully extinguished
Meanwhile, more hot, dry weather this week is forecast for fire-ravaged areas near Bordeaux and Madrid, threatening to further exacerbate the flames
Here’s where things stand as of Tuesday morning:
- The fire in the French prefecture of Gironderemained stable overnight is contained for now, authorities said. Emergency crews are scrambling to create tactical firebreaks to keep the blaze from spreading.
- More than 160 people have been detained or questioned over deliberately starting fires, said Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu. The blazes in France mostly stem from “carelessness: a cigarette butt, a barbecue, or work carried out without precautions,” he added.
- A volunteer firefighter died in the French region of Bouches-du-Rhône Monday after the tanker he was driving came off the road, authorities said, according to BFMTV.
- Air pollution in Bordeauxin southwestern France has spiked to six times WHO safe levels as residents grapple with smoke from wildfires.
In Spain:
- Wildfires have forced at least 63,152 people toevacuate their homes in the central Spanish regions of Madrid, Toledo and Avila, Spain’s interior ministry said Monday. The wildfires are “the most painful expression of the climate emergency,” Spain’s prime minister said.
- Firefighters in eastern Spain’s Castellon province are facing added risks due to unexploded ordnance from the Spanish Civil War that is littered across the mountainous landscape.
CNN’s Michael Rios, Pierre Bairin, Maureen Chowdhury, Billy Stockwell and Jerome Taylor contributed reporting
French firefighters spray water to extinguish residual flames and secure the area in a smoke-filled pine forest near Marcheprime during the ongoing Gironde wildfires in southwestern France, on Monday.
The fire in France’s hard-hit Gironde remained stable overnight, local authorities said in a morning update
Several flare-ups near Le Porge and Cap Ferret were brought under control by firefighters. The total burned area remains at 42,000 hectares, the prefecture said
Military engineers and firefighters resumed work at 6:30 a.m. local time creating tactical firebreaks to keep the blaze from spreading
As of Tuesday, 103 kilometers (64 miles) of firebreaks — gaps in vegetation designed to impede fire spread — have been completed, the prefecture said
More than 90 firefighters have been injured in Gironde, the prefecture said
More hot, sunny, dry weather is expected today in the fire-struck French regions of Gironde and Landes, according to France’s national weather service, which has issued yellow heat warnings for both areas
Temperatures in Gironde are predicted to reach 33-35 degrees Celsius (91-95 Fahrenheit) Tuesday. In Landes, highs of up to 37 (99) are predicted inland, according to Météo-France
No rain was forecast for Tuesday in either region
Heavy blaze from wildfire spreads across Spain’s Castellon province.
Wildfires have forced at least 63,152 people to evacuate their homes in the central Spanish regions of Madrid, Toledo and Avila, Spain’s Interior Ministry said Monday
The ministry has also temporarily suspended harvesting work with agricultural machinery in those three regions
The fire in the province of Avila has burned more than 50,000 hectares (190 square miles), making it the largest fire in Spain’s history, the Minister for the Ecological Transition Sara Aagesen said
In that province alone, more than 25,000 people have been evacuated and over 8,700 are confined to their homes
Emergency crews are still battling wildfires in France and Spain as French President Emmanuel Macron said his country is battling the “most severe” situation since World War II
Spain’s prime minister has said the wildfires are “the most painful expression of the climate emergency.”
Scroll through the photos below for more:
A plane drops fire retardant in Marcheprime, France, on Monday.
A group hold a firehose and try to suppress a fire near Lacanau, as wildfires rage outside Bordeaux, France, on Monday.
A water-bombing helicopter is helping to extinguish the wildfire in Casillas, Avila province, Spain on Monday.
Deer run away from a wildfire near the village of Cebreros, Avila province, Spain.
Firefighters battle wildfires amid drought conditions following a heatwave and water shortages across much of France, in Saint-Jean-d’Illac, Gironde department, France.
A view of a wildfire on a mountain in Onda, Spain.
A general view of an area affected by a wildfire in La Vall d’Uixo, Castellon province, Spain, July 27, 2026.
Remnants of Spain’s bloody civil war nearly a century ago are impeding firefighting efforts as blazes rage on
Firefighters in Vall d’Uixo, in Spain’s eastern Castellon province, are facing additional dangers due to lingering unexploded ordnance in the area, Valencia’s fire chief Chevi Bolumar told public broadcaster TVE
Vall d’Uixo’s mountainous terrain was home to an important defensive fortification system known as the XYZ line, which was created by Spain’s Republican forces in 1938 to defend Valencia from General Franco’s rebel troops
The area was the site of several key aerial attacks and aging munitions are still buried in its vast landscape, posing an added risk to firefighters responding to active blazes
Unexploded ordnance is highly sensitive to heat and can detonate unexpectedly when exposed to fires or extreme temperatures
Wildfires in France are causing the concentrations of dangerous air pollutants in Bordeaux to spike well above safe levels, Richard Pope, an atmospheric scientist, told CNN on Monday
““In recent days, Bordeaux has experienced PM2.5 (a key air pollutant) concentrations (greater than) 100 µg/m3 while the World Health Organization daily safety exposure threshold is 15 µg/m3,” said Pope, an academic at the University of Leeds in England.”
Residents in Bordeaux told CNN they are grappling with smoke and poor air quality stemming from the wildfires raging in southwestern France. Some have voluntarily fled despite no evacuation waring in place for the city. “There’s a smell of smoke and ashes everywhere,” one resident said
Meanwhile in Spain, smoke is moving away from Madrid’s metropolitan area, reducing air quality concerns in the city “for now,” Pope said. Nevertheless, he added that across both countries the “widespread smoke observed from space has degraded air quality and increased health risks for millions.”
