NPR National News

France and Spain fires force more than 200,000 to flee homes

NPR | By Chandelis Duster

Published July 25, 2026 at 9:05 PM EDT

Firefighters spray water in a burning forest near Lacanau, southwestern France, Saturday, July 25, 2026.

Devastating wildfires in Spain and France have forced more than 200,000 people to evacuate.

Across France, more than 167,000 people had been evacuated, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Saturday night, as some 30 fires burned simultaneously.

The most devastating fires are in the Southwest, in the Gironde and Landes regions, French President Emmanuel Macron said on social media Saturday.

The Gironde fire, near the popular tourist destination of Bordeaux, was not contained as of Saturday night.

More than 242,000 acres have been burned in France this year — a historic record — the country's interior minister Laurent Nuñez said Saturday, according to Politico Europe.

Prime Minister Lecornu warned that the coming hours could be difficult.

"The situation remains particularly critical in the Gironde department. The abrupt change in weather conditions yesterday has profoundly altered the fire's dynamics," Lecornu wrote in a social media post. "After a slight improvement overnight and this morning, the forecast is once again unfavorable."

The fires have also affected the Tour de France, the country's annual cycling race, which ends Sunday. The route for the race's final stage was shortened because security and police for the event were reassigned to assist with the fires, organizers said.

In Spain, at least one person from Manises, a town in Valencia, has died from the fires, local officials said.

In Avila and near Madrid, about 60,000 people were evacuated, Spain's Interior Ministry reported Saturday. Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska on Friday declared a national state of emergency because of the wildfires. More than 29,000 people have been evacuated from the Madrid area while more than 20,000 are confined. In the Ávila province, more than 30,000 people have been evacuated and at least 8,000 are confined.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said in a video posted to social media on Saturday that the government is working to provide shelter for those who evacuated or were confined because of the fires.