France evacuates 40,000 from Cap Ferret as wildfires sweep southern Europe

French authorities ordered the complete evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula on Friday as a wildfire burning in southwestern France threatened the popular tourist destination, while Spain declared a state of emergency in the Madrid region amid its own devastating blazes.

France Launches Boats to Rescue Tourists

Around 40,000 people are being evacuated from Cap Ferret alone, according to BFMTV, with boats launched to help rescue people from the peninsula near Bordeaux. The evacuation escalated rapidly after more than 10,000 people were moved overnight on Wednesday, including tourists at eight holiday camps and campgrounds in the region.apnews+2

The fire has spread over more than 2,400 hectares and some 500 firefighters have been deployed, though the Gironde prefecture said "the situation remains unfavorable". Two firefighters died on Tuesday while tackling a blaze that broke out near Bordeaux airport. No civilian injuries have been reported.france24+2

President Emmanuel Macron announced Friday that France had activated the EU's Civil Protection Mechanism. "We will soon be able to count on reinforcements from two Croatian Canadair aircraft, two Portuguese Air Tractor planes, as well as two heavy Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia," Macron said.reuters

Spain Declares State of Emergency

Spain's government declared a state of emergency in the Madrid region, where more than 10,000 people have been evacuated in recent days. Authorities ordered evacuations around the city of Toledo, south of Madrid, after a wildfire threatened homes on Wednesday.france24+1

The country was already grappling with its biggest wildfire of the year in Guadalajara province, about 100 kilometers north of Madrid, which has burned roughly 32,000 hectares since mid-July and forced 1,200 people from more than 30 settlements. More than 600 firefighters and troops backed by 29 aircraft have been battling that blaze.aljazeera+1

Heatwave Fuels Crisis Across Southern Europe

Spain's weather agency AEMET warned that wildfire danger was "very high or extreme" across most of mainland Spain, with temperatures forecast to reach 42 to 44 degrees Celsius in Mediterranean areas. In France, multiple departments in the south remain under a red alert for forest fires.aljazeera+1

According to data from the European Forest Fires Information System, wildfires have burned around 254,388 hectares across the EU in 2026. France's Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said more than 12,500 wildfires have broken out in France since the beginning of the year, with almost 44,000 hectares already burned.euronews+1