Wildfires force 260,000 evacuations across France, Spain

July 26, 2026 / 9:32 AM

Sharjah24 - WAM: Wildfires sweeping through Spain and France forced authorities to evacuate around 260,000 people on Saturday, with the largest evacuations taking place around the French city of Bordeaux and near Madrid, where officials are battling the capital's worst wildfire on record.

France carries out largest peacetime evacuation

In eastern Spain, local authorities reported one death after a wildfire broke out near Valencia.

In France, around 200,000 people were forced to leave their homes or holiday accommodation. French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the operation was likely the largest civilian evacuation carried out in the country during peacetime.

The French military was deployed to support firefighting efforts, with 1,500 troops mobilised from Saturday evening. An A400M military transport aircraft was also used for the first time in wildfire operations, capable of dropping 20,000 litres of water or fire retardant.

Madrid wildfire forces mass evacuations

In Spain, the fires have scorched up to 25,000 hectares west of Madrid. Around 60,000 people in the Madrid region have been evacuated so far, according to the latest figures released by Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska.