Wildfires sweeping across Spain and France have forced more than 300,000 people from their homes, with many now sheltering in sports halls and other temporary facilities, raising questions for travelers with upcoming trips to either country.
Local officials have gone as far as asking visitors to stay away entirely. Sophie Brocas, prefect of France’s Gironde department, one of the hardest-hit areas, said Sunday that she was urging tourists not to come, advising anyone already planning a trip there to consider going somewhere else instead, says a report done by the BBC.
For those with travel booked, the British government has not issued a blanket warning against visiting either country, though it is advising caution. For France specifically, it notes that access to affected areas may be restricted and that roads could close with little notice, with the possibility of further evacuations.
It has also issued a standing warning about elevated wildfire risk across France throughout the April-to-October summer season. Travelers already in an affected area, or planning to head to one, are advised to follow guidance from local authorities and emergency services at all times, and to call 112 if they need emergency assistance in either country. It’s worth keeping in mind that official government travel advice can shift quickly as the situation develops.
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Anna-Marie Duthie, a travel insurance expert at the financial ratings firm Defaqto, said that if government guidance changes after a trip has already been booked, travelers may become eligible for cancellation or curtailment coverage, and potentially for reimbursement of additional travel and accommodation costs if their trip is disrupted by a catastrophic event, depending on whether their policy includes that coverage.
Whether this applies comes down to the specific terms of each policy.
As for where the fires are actually burning, the UK government points to affected areas in Gironde and Landes in southwestern France. France’s official wildfire tracking map currently places Gironde and Pyrénées-Orientales at the highest alert level, with Aude and Var at the second-highest. As of Monday, more than 20 fires were burning across the country, including on the island of Corsica.
In Spain, authorities have declared a national emergency over wildfires affecting parts of Madrid and Ávila, with additional fire activity reported in other inland regions as well.
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Whether travel insurance actually covers wildfire-related disruption depends heavily on the specific policy. Chris Bose, director of general insurance policy at the Association of British Insurers, said that if trip disruption is included in a traveler’s coverage, some resulting costs may be reimbursed.
However, according to Defaqto’s analysis, only about half of travel insurance policies include catastrophe coverage at all, meaning many travelers could find themselves without protection in a wildfire scenario. Checking directly with an insurer or reviewing policy language closely is the only way to know for certain.
For travelers facing a canceled flight or accommodation booking, Bose recommends first seeking a refund directly from the airline, tour operator or accommodation provider. Duthie said that if an airline cancels a flight due to wildfires, it should offer either a rebooking option or a full refund. For package holidays, she said that refund should typically cover every component, including flights, lodging and transfers.
Those who booked each element separately, however, will need to deal with each provider individually, since an airline refund doesn’t guarantee accommodation providers will do the same if their property wasn’t directly affected.
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As for whether to cancel a trip preemptively, experts advise checking policy terms first. Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said this is especially important for anyone not traveling within the next week or two, warning that canceling early will likely forfeit any right to a refund or rebooking.
Since the UK government hasn’t issued a travel warning for either country as a whole, Boland said travelers are unlikely to have a valid insurance claim, noting that insurers generally don’t make exceptions for simple reluctance to travel.
Instead, he recommends waiting closer to the departure date to see whether the trip can proceed as planned or what flexible rebooking options tour operators and airlines make available, since travel companies tend to prioritize customers departing within the next few days.
Looking further ahead, the broader wildfire trend raises questions about how travel insurance might evolve. According to the World Health Organization, the amount of land burned by wildfires across Europe has increased by 57% since the summer of 2022, a trend the organization attributes to climate change intensifying both the severity and frequency of fires.
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Duthie said insurers are beginning to adapt to these emerging risks, though she doesn’t expect major policy changes in the near term. Current policy language often references severe or extreme weather without specifying concrete thresholds like maximum temperatures, and definitions vary widely between providers. Over the longer term, though, she said there’s a real possibility that fewer destinations remain insurable and that premiums rise as a result.
