In pictures: Spain and France battle fierce wildfires
Wildfires have burned through vast areas of the Mediterranean as another heatwave closes in
A firefighter airplane overflies a wildfire near the village of Cebreros, Avila province, Spain, on July 27th. Photo: Miguel Riopa/AFP/Getty Images
Tue Jul 28 2026 - 15:17 • 1 MIN READ
Firefighters in Spain and France are racing to contain wildfires threatening Madrid and Bordeaux, as Europe’s fourth heat wave of the summer takes hold.
In France, nearly 260,000 have had to flee, while in neighbouring Spain 116,000 have been evacuated as the wildfires continue to wreak havoc across southern Europe.
Journalists look at a fire line, a break in vegetation, near Lège-Cap-Ferret, on July 28th. Photo: Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images
A firefighting crew is deployed to battle a wildfire in Saint-Jean-d'Illac, southwestern France. At least 98,000 hectares have burned since the wildfires began on the Cap Ferret peninsula. Photo: Laurent Perpigna/EPA
Aerial view of a house on scorched ground in the Camino de Navahonda area, following a wildfire near Robledo de Chavela, 60km west of Madrid, Photo: Oscar Del Pozo/AFP/Getty
Damage caused by a wildfire in a burnt-out house in Piedralaves, 100km west of Madrid. Photo: Oscar Del Pozo/AFP/Getty
A large pine tree with its hollowed trunk still burning from the inside, is seen in a scorched forest following a wildfire near La Adrada, west of Madrid. Photo: Miguel Riopa/AFP via Getty
A De Havilland Canada DHC-8-400 Dash 8 operated by the French civil defence agency drops fire retardant as wildfires rage near Marcheprime, outside Bordeaux. Photo: AP Photo/Emma Da Silva
A firefighter stands before flames as a forest fire rages in Saint-Jean-d'Illac on July 26th. Photo: Romain Perrocheau/AFP via Getty Images
220,000 people evacuated due to the massive wildfire in France's Gironde region will not be able to return home "until the fire has been brought under control", the local prefect said. Photo: Romain Perrocheau/AFP via Getty Images
A fire that broke out near Biscarrosse in the Landes region of southwestern France has been "contained," France's president said. Photo: Philippe Lopez/AFP via Getty
Two goats stand on a road near an area affected by wildfires in Marcheprime, southwestern France. Photo: Laurent Perpigna/EPA
Smoke billows from a wildfire near Robledo de Chavela. Spain faces two crucial days to bring raging wildfires under control before weather conditions worsenPhoto: Oscar Ddel Pozo/ AFP via Getty Images
Residents work to thoroughly put out tree trunks that continue to smolder following a wildfire in La Adrada. Photo: Oscar Del Pozo/ AFP via Getty Images
A scorched area after a wildfire raged in La Vall d'Uxio, 55km northeast of Valencia, on July 28th. Photo: Jose Jordan/AFP/Getty
A farm house and a van are burnt out following wildfires in Navas del Rey. Photo: Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty
Vehicles are burnt out in an industrial area following wildfires on July 27th, in Chapinería, in Madrid province, Spain. Photo: Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty
Firefighters carry out mop-up operations, extinguishing remaining hot spots and smoldering patches, in a forest near Marcheprime. Photo: Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty
