France, Spain and Greece battled major wildfires yesterday, with Spain bringing one blaze under control but facing new threats as intense heat, dry vegetation and powerful winds kept much of southern Europe on alert.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez downgraded the emergency level for a major fire on the border between Madrid and Castile and León, but warned the danger had not passed as at least 10 other blazes caused concern across the country.
In France, two people were arrested on suspicion of arson as crews contained a vast fire near Bordeaux.
Emergency crews have faced barely a pause between heatwaves and fire fronts this summer across an increasingly tinder-dry Europe, the world’s fastest-warming continent.
In eastern England, firemen were tackling a significant wildfire at Dunwich Heath, prompting the evacuation of about 200 caravans from the area, a significant biodiversity site.
Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service called the blaze one of the most challenging incidents in the county’s history.
EU countries are having an above-average season for wildfires, already overtaking 2025’s record-breaking year.
Across parts of western and southern Europe, a relatively wet winter fed forests and scrubland before successive heatwaves baked new growth into tinder, leaving abundant fuel for fires.
Yesterday’s temperatures showed Europe was the continent furthest from its historic norm, according to the Reuters Climate Monitor.
The average high was forecast to be 25.3C, 3.6C above what was typical from 1961 to 1990.
The toll of extreme weather has extended well beyond the widespread devastation caused by fires.
An estimated 9,800 people have died from heat-related causes in Germany so far this year, the country’s RKI public health institute said yesterday, adding to a growing body of evidence that heat is behind thousands of excess deaths recorded this year in Europe.
In southwestern France, authorities said the fires near Bordeaux had not spread overnight, with the area burned holding at 42,000 hectares and milder weather forecast.
The French fires have torn through pine forests and forced about 220,000 residents and holidaymakers to evacuate, although some 60,000 have been allowed to return.
Thousands of businesses which briefly suspended operations were gradually reopening, while a key motorway was set to fully reopen yesterday after days of partial closures, officials said.
Among those who evacuated were Hollywood actor George Clooney and his British-born wife Amal, with their two children, who own property in southern France.
Conditions were expected to ease around Bordeaux later yesterday, with the possibility of thunderstorms, greater humidity and temperatures below recent peaks.
But an extreme heat warning remained in force in Gironde, the department of which Bordeaux is the main city.
&uuid=(email))