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Southern Europe Wildfires
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Last source fetch: 24 Aug 2026, 10:51 CEST
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Sources & MethodRavaged by wildfires, France's Fontainebleau forest reopens to public
The forest of Fontainebleau outside Paris has partially reopened to the public after remaining off-limits for over a month due to devastating wildfires. From Saturday, visitors can access some 80 percent of the forest, but are being warned to show caution around fragile wildlife and charred trees.
Source confidence: medium
RFI - English
Millions in France report eco-anxiety after summer of heatwaves and wildfires
Record-breaking heatwaves, drought and wildfires are driving a surge in eco-anxiety across France, with some sufferers "paralysed" by panic attacks, unable to work and, in the most severe cases, experiencing suicidal thoughts.
Source confidence: medium
RFI - English
Europe’s wildfires: How prepared are we for the next fire?
Massive wildfires are burning across Europe, from Belgium and Greece to Spain, Italy and France. Alexander Held, Senior Expert at the European Forest Institute, explains why fires are spreading into unexpected areas and whether Europe is facing a new normal. He also looks at how citizens can help prevent and limit wildfires, while stressing the need for greater resilience and better funded government support to deal with increasingly extreme fire seasons.
Source confidence: medium
France 24 - English
Wildfires spread across Europe as thousands evacuated
Wildfires are spreading across Europe, forcing evacuations and causing deaths and major damage. Greece, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Germany and the UK have all battled severe fires, with Croatia also seeing multiple blazes and arrests over suspected arson.
Source confidence: medium
France 24 - English
Devastated by wildfire, the village of Le Porge pins hopes for support on PM visit
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu will visit the Gironde department in southwestern France on Monday to launch reconstruction efforts, after the area fell victim to the most destructive wildfires seen in 70 years. The mayor of Le Porge – one of the villages worst affected – told RFI he's hoping for government support to rebuild its economy, which relies heavily on forest exploitation.
Source confidence: medium
RFI - English
France: Landes wildfire stopped spreading but remains out of control
Firefighters in southwestern France are continuing to battle a wildfire that has burned 1,700 hectares of forest in the Landes region. The blaze has stopped spreading but remains out of control, with 550 firefighters, military personnel and six water-bombing aircraft working to contain it and allow evacuated residents to return home.
Source confidence: medium
France 24 - English
Flood in rural northwestern Spain kills two, injures two babies
Two women were killed and two babies were injured when torrential rain sparked a flood and a landslide in rural northwestern Spain on Saturday, authorities said. The flood comes after weeks of heatwaves and wildfires in the country.
Source confidence: medium
France 24 - English
Firefighters keep battling wildfire in France’s Landes region
Firefighters and local farmers are working through the night to contain a wildfire in Luglon, in southwestern France, which has already burned more than 1,500 hectares. With hot spots still threatening homes, crews are hoping forecast rain will help bring the blaze under control.
Source confidence: medium
France 24 - English
France wildfire forces 520 to evacuate
Around 520 residents in France’s southwestern Landes region have been evacuated as a raging wildfire has burned through more than 1,000 hectares since Thursday. Significant reinforcements have been mobilised, while authorities warn that the fire’s trajectory remains unpredictable. Simon Moritz has the story.
Source confidence: medium
France 24 - English
France evacuates hundreds as new wildfire threatens southwestern Landes region
Authorities evacuated 525 people from the village of Luglon Friday as a new wildfire tore through southwestern France, burning 1,100 hectares and advancing to within a few kilometres of the village centre amid an unprecedented wildfire season.
Source confidence: medium
France 24 - English
Europe battles wildfires and braces for another summer heatwave
As well as drought, Europe has also been battling wildfires this summer. Firefighters this week are struggling to control a rapidly expanding wildfire in southwestern Spain that has forced the evacuation of around 800 people. For more on that topic, FRANCE 24's Nadia Massih is joined by Alexander Held, Senior Fire Management Expert at the European Forest Institute.
Source confidence: medium
France 24 - English
Wildfire rages in southern France, forcing evacuations
A wildfire in southern France forced the evacuation of two hamlets on Sunday as more than 200 firefighters battled flames that had scorched around 90 hectares in the Lozere region. Officials said the blaze, possibly sparked by a vehicle fire, remained out of control amid extremely dry conditions.
Source confidence: medium
France 24 - English
The week in pictures: Summer wildfires, a Thai school shooting and the Tour de France Femmes
This summer's record wildfire season continued its devastation in the US state of Washington and parts of Europe, Thailand mourned after a school shooting left students and teachers dead, and cycling enthusiasts turned their attention to the women's Tour de France: here's a look at the week's most striking images.
Source confidence: medium
France 24 - English
'People at war have come to help': Ukrainian firefighters battle French wildfire
A team of 70 firefighters from Ukraine is on deployment in southwest France, where wildfires have scorched 42,000 hectares in the worst blaze in decades. RFI met the Ukrainian rescuers helping to put out the last of the flames.
Source confidence: medium
RFI - English
France's timber industry rushes to process trees charred by wildfires
Fires across France have left behind mountains of cut and burned wood. More than 35,000 metric tons of trees were chopped down to urgently create firebreaks and slow the spread of the flames. But what will become of all these trees? The timber industry is now under heavy strain. It will take more than two years to remove and process it all. Story by Caitlin Brown.
Source confidence: medium
France 24 - English
Ile-de-France region files suit for compensation over Fontainebleau forest fire
The Ile-de-France regional council this week launched a civil law suit over the recent wildfire which decimated more than 2,000 hectares of the Fontainebleau forest, south of Paris. A criminal investigation has been opened into the blaze, which the national forestry office says caused significant environmental damage.
Source confidence: medium
RFI - English
Europe's heat wave fuels drought, wildfires and fears about energy supplies
Europe's heat wave exposes buried history and new threats — Nazi-era wrecks emerge from the Danube, nuclear reactors face cooling risks, and Greece battles deadly wildfires.
Source confidence: medium
NPR - World
Firefighters in Greece gain ground against wildfires near Athens
Easing winds on the northwestern outskirts of Athens allowed firefighters in Greece to gain ground against a wildfire that had been burning for five consecutive days near the coastal village of Psatha, the fire service said. The greater Athens region has been placed under near-maximum fire risk for Wednesday, according to the civil protection ministry.
Source confidence: medium
France 24 - English
Greece gains ground against blaze near Athens
Firefighters in Greece gained ground Tuesday against a wildfire burning for a fifth day on the outskirts of Athens, as easing winds allowed water-bombing aircraft back into the skies in force.
Source confidence: medium
France 24 - English
Greece's wildfires claim lives as firefighters struggle to contain flames
In Greece, hundreds of firefighters are pushing ahead with their attempts to bring multiple blazes across the country under control. Police have arrested two people in connection with one of the blazes near the coastal village of Porto Germeno, which investigators believe may have been caused by an electrical cable. The fires have already claimed multiple lives.
Source confidence: medium
France 24 - English
France wildfires reveal hundreds of WW2 shells in village
Explosions heard in Le Porge as the wildfires raged are believed to have have been the old munitions.
Source confidence: medium
BBC World
Europe's record-breaking heat sparks wildfires, drought in France, Greece and the UK
Europe's record-breaking hot and dry summer continues to take its toll on France and Greece, where firefighters fought to contain major blazes, while the UK recorded its driest July in nearly two centuries. Europe is Earth’s fastest-warming continent, heating at more than twice the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus climate service.
Source confidence: medium
France 24 - English
French wildfires expose cache of buried Second World War shells
Devastating wildfires in the southwest of France have uncovered a hidden cache of Second World War-era shells in the village of Le Porge, adding an explosive edge to an already dangerous situation.
Source confidence: medium
RFI - English
Deadly helicopter crash in Greece highlights danger to crews fighting wildfires
Water-bombing aircraft returned to the skies over Greece on Monday as firefighters battled several major blazes near Athens, a day after two pilots were killed when their fire-fighting helicopter collided with another aircraft.
Source confidence: medium
RFI - English
Wildfire threat eases across France, despite heat alerts and storm warnings
France’s wildfire situation showed signs of improvement on Monday, with thousands of residents and tourists preparing to return to evacuated areas in the south-west, even as firefighters remained on alert amid high temperatures, low humidity and a new risk of severe thunderstorms.
Source confidence: medium
RFI - English
France's famed Bordeaux wine country has been charred by wildfire
Southwest France has seen wildfires in the past. But the fires that raged last week and scorched 100,000 acres are something new to the region.
Source confidence: medium
NPR - World
Helicopters fighting Greece wildfires collide in mid-air
Video of the incident shows one of the helicopters hitting the propellers of the other, which bursts into flames.
Source confidence: medium
BBC World
The week in pictures: European wildfires, a woolly mammoth and a migrant influx at Spain's Ceuta
Fires burned across much of Europe, an earthquake in Japan killed dozens, record-low water levels in Bulgaria exposed the remains of a woolly mammoth, and tens of thousands sought to cross into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta before eventually returning home: FRANCE 24 looks back at some of the week's most striking images.
Source confidence: medium
France 24 - English
Greece's wildfires worsen as strong winds spread blazes
Greece confronted a worsening fire crisis on Sunday, with wildfires burning on multiple fronts and swaths of forest and agricultural land destroyed. Strong winds were worsening fires and hampering firefighting aircraft, officials said, and a search and rescue operation was under way after two firefighting helicopters collided west of Athens.
Source confidence: medium
France 24 - English
France: Major Gironde wildfire contained
In France, the wildfire in Gironde has now been contained, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, meaning the flames are no longer spreading. Around 42,000 hectares have been burned over the past nine days.
Source confidence: medium
France 24 - English
France's wildfires are now 'under control', says PM Lecornu
France's largest wildfire since 1949 is "under control" more than a week after erupting in the Gironde department near Bordeaux, French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Saturday. France has been battling wildfires for weeks after a series of deadly heatwaves, which scientists have linked to human-made climate change.
Source confidence: medium
France 24 - English
Greece fights fires near Athens
Evacuation orders were issued on Friday for areas west and northwest of Athens, as new wildfires broke out near the Greek capital. Firefighters battled to contain the flames, but winds of around 50 miles per hour hampered efforts by water-bombing aircraft. Meanwhile, fires in other parts of the country were brought under control, although the risk of new outbreaks remains very high.
Source confidence: medium
France 24 - English
Orange forest fire notification in Greece
On 31/07/2026, a forest fire started in Greece, until 05/08/2026.
Source confidence: strong
GDACS - Global Alerts
George Clooney's family evacuates their home in France amid wildfires
George Clooney and his family have evacuated their home in southeastern France after a nearby wildfire threatened the area, his agent said Thursday. Blazes continued to scorch parts of the country during a prolonged spell of extreme summer heat.
Source confidence: medium
France 24 - English
Greece orders partial evacuation of Athens suburb as wildfire burns
Greek authorities on Friday ordered the partial evacuation of a suburb west of Athens after a forest fire broke out on a nearby mountain, prompting an emergency alert as firefighters battled to contain the blaze.
Source confidence: medium
France 24 - English
As Bordeaux blaze eases, Ukraine sends reinforcements to France
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Friday that 308 people have been detained nationwide over the wildfire outbreak, with two-thirds suspected of "deliberate arson". The announcement came as the blaze near Bordeaux showed signs of easing and Ukraine dispatched 70 rescuers to help battle the fires still burning across France.
Source confidence: medium
RFI - English
France’s wildfires: Famous Bordeaux wine region at risk
🇫🇷 🍷 #France's largest #wine region is facing a wake-up call after #wildfires neared #Bordeaux's famed vineyards. The blazes underscored the climate challenges posed by severe drought and repeated #heatwaves. FRANCE 24's Gabrielle Nadler explains ▶️
Source confidence: medium
France 24 - English
How did climate change fuel the wildfires ravaging Europe this summer?
A new study by researchers from the World Weather Attribution has found that human-induced climate change played a significant role in the wildfires that have gripped France and Spain in the past week. The hot and dry conditions brought about by climate change made the fires twice as likely in France and 20 times as likely in Spain the scientists found.
Source confidence: medium
France 24 - English
Orange forest fire notification in Spain
On 25/07/2026, a forest fire started in Spain, until 29/07/2026.
Source confidence: strong
GDACS - Global Alerts
Wildfires surge across Europe as Spain and France battle major blazes
The amount of land burned by wildfires across Europe has increased by 57 per cent in four years, according to new data from the World Health Organization (WHO) in Europe.
Source confidence: strong
UN News - All