Climate change

Over 40K Evacuated as Wildfires Rage Across France

Are wildfires a natural inevitability or are climate conditions making them catastrophically worse?

Published JUL 24

Over 40K Evacuated as Wildfires Rage Across France

Story

Above: Firefighters try to extinguish fires burning trees near Le Porge, southwestern France, on July 23. Image credit: Roman Perrocheau/AFP/Getty Images

The Facts

French authorities used boats to evacuate and ferry more than 44,000 residents and tourists from four village piers of the Cap Ferret peninsula on Friday as a wildfire burned more than 10,000 hectares in the Gironde area.
The Guardian
The Telegraph
GB News
Le Monde
French President Emmanuel Macron activated the EU's civil protection mechanism, securing two Croatian Canadair aircraft, two Portuguese Air Tractor planes and two Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The EU also deployed three water-bombing aircraft to France.
The Guardian
Reuters
Emmanuel Macron on X
Across France, 32 wildfires were burning and 50,000 hectares had been lost since the start of the year — roughly three times the area destroyed in the previous season. Two firefighters died Tuesday tackling a blaze near Bordeaux airport.
The Local
The Telegraph
NBC
A second major wildfire near Biscarrosse, about 25 miles south of Cap Ferret, burned through more than 2,500 hectares and prompted the evacuation of more than 23,000 people from campsites, homes, a children's summer camp and a residential care home.
Daily Mail
Reuters
The Telegraph on Facebook
Meanwhile, Spain declared a national emergency after wildfires threatened communities near Madrid and in Avila province, forcing more than 40,000 people to evacuate. Spain's environment ministry recorded 29 large forest fires in 2026, compared to an annual average of nine over the previous decade.
Euractiv
The Guardian
Fox4Kc
EuroNews
The total area burned in EU countries this year is the second-largest on record, according to satellite data from the European Forest Fire Information System. Three successive heatwaves across Europe intensified drought conditions, as temperatures exceeded 40°C in parts of southern Europe.
France 24
RFI
World Weather Attribution
Daily Mail

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The Spin

Climate-skeptic narrative

Wildfires have always been part of Earth's history, and blaming every fire on climate change ignores basic geological reality. Earth has been far hotter than today for most of its history, driven by orbital mechanics — not CO₂ levels. Treating today's climate as the only acceptable baseline is scientifically dishonest and shuts down legitimate debate.

Peter Clack on X

Chris Martz on X

Climate-concerned narrative

Climate change didn't start the Biscarrosse wildfire, but it absolutely made it catastrophic. France's recurring heatwaves turned the Landes de Gascogne forest into a tinderbox, so one burning van was enough to displace thousands and scorch thousands of hectares. Fixating on the ignition source while ignoring the supercharged conditions that let it explode misses the entire point.