Violent wildfires are ravaging several regions of southern Europe, and in France, thousands of people were evacuated today from a tourist region in the Southwest because of a fire, now “contained,” that had swept through 3,400 hectares.
Likely of accidental origin, this fire in France, which began Wednesday in the early afternoon, forced authorities, as a precaution, to evacuate more than 20,000 people in the area of the Landes de Gascogne forest, near the Arcachon basin, a region already affected by violent fires in the summer of 2022.
The European Commission announced today it is sending three firefighting planes to help combat the fire, after “France’s activation of the EU civil protection mechanism,” according to European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib.
According to the mayor of Gironde, Sophie Brocas, “the fire is not yet stabilized,” but by the end of the afternoon today it was “contained north of the municipality of Lège,” which has 8,000 permanent residents but attracts tens of thousands of tourists during the summer.
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No casualties have been recorded so far, and only one isolated house was destroyed, three others were partially hit by the flames, and one caravan burned, according to the latest count.
“The guards came knocking on every door. The fire was about 500 meters away,” Patrick Martineau, 69, a resident, told the French news agency AFP today.
“We’re a bit scared and find it hard to believe! It’s surreal. When we bought here [the house], six years ago, we didn’t think about the fire risk,” he added.
About 700 firefighters are mobilized against the flames, supported by dozens of military personnel and guards. According to several sources heard by AFP, the fire was reportedly caused by a brush-clearing machine.Authorities favor the accident hypothesis, and the municipality has banned “all forestry work using thermal engines” in the department until further notice. On Wednesday, such work was still permitted until 1:00 pm local time (11:00 GMT).
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In France, another fire, which started Tuesday at midday in a field, is affecting the Var department (southeast), having swept through about 2,500 hectares and “remains stable,” according to prefect Simon Fabre, who authorized this morning the 400 people who had been evacuated to return to their homes.
In southern Italy, dozens of forest and vegetation fires, fueled by hot wind, are causing damage, especially in Sicily, where about a hundred residents and 22 patients from a clinic in the center of the island also had to be evacuated on Wednesday, according to firefighters.
In Spain, most of the residents evacuated from their towns on Wednesday night, after a fire broke out about 70 kilometers southwest of central Madrid, have already been able to return to their homes, Spanish emergency services announced today. However, several road routes remained closed this morning.
Three firefighters have died in recent days, two in France and one in Italy, causing strong emotion.
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At this stage, 2026 ranks second in burned areas across the European Union in the last two decades of measurements, according to satellite data from the Effis system analyzed by AFP. But it is the worst year in France, and one of the worst in Spain and Italy.
