Arcachon (France): Large forest fires burned out of control in southwestern France and central Spain on Friday, prompting authorities to evacuate an estimated 87,000 people from their homes. Some even fled by boat when flames swept through the touristic Cap Ferret peninsula on France’s Atlantic coast.
Dozens of firefighters were injured, authorities said. Some 125 square kilometres (about 50 square miles) have been consumed by the blaze that has raged since Wednesday near Cap Ferret. Located just 60 kilometres (37 miles) from Bordeaux, the peninsula normally offers stunning landscapes and sandy beaches as well as oyster-farming villages and upmarket resorts.
About 67,000 residents in France escaped a larger area as authorities ordered additional evacuations further south after a separate wildfire broke out. Both France and Spain have asked fellow European Union members for help.
More than 20,000 people had already been evacuated from towns and vacation resorts on Thursday. The new evacuations were carried out by road, with boat shuttles provided for people who could not travel by their own means.
Local authorities in the Gironde department said 53 homes and a campsite have been ravaged by flames, adding that 42 firefighters were injured. Around 1,500 people who fled the peninsula arrived by sea in the city of Arcachon, some aboard small water taxis and others on larger boats.
Hundreds of French firefighters have been deployed, and additional ground and aerial reinforcements were sent on Friday to tackle the blaze. Meanwhile, another major wildfire destroyed 25 square kilometres of land further south down the coast. It remained uncontained, and strong winds hampered the work of firefighters.
Authorities believe the cause of both fires was accidental. Some 44,000 people have been evacuated in Gironde, and 23,000 in the Landes.
French President Emmanuel Macron said France will receive EU reinforcements, including two Croatian Canadair firefighting aircraft, two Portuguese Air Tractor aircraft, and two heavy-lift Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said that Italy and Greece are each sending two Canadair water-dumping aeroplanes.
In Spain, the government declared a national emergency for wildfires for the first time as the blazes in Madrid and the nearby province of Avila prompted the evacuation of some 20,000 people from towns.
In Italy, wildfires continued to ravage parts of Sicily, with the central-western province of Agrigento particularly hard hit.
Fueled by temperatures that have topped 40 C (104 F), low humidity and winds, the blazes have forced scattered evacuations and were blamed for the death of a firefighter responding to a fire in Caltanissetta.
Globally, 2025 was the third-hottest year on record, bringing severe heat waves across Europe. Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, especially in southeastern Europe, making the region more vulnerable to health impacts and wildfires.
