Record European fires burn more than 1.25 million acres over summer

Four of the EU's 15 largest fires of the past 10 years occurred this summer.(AFP) — A record-breaking summer that saw more than 1,000 wildfires has torched about 1.33 million acres of land across the European Union since mid-June, according to official data — an area more than twice the size of Luxembourg.Multiple back-to-back heat waves fueled by climate change scorched Europe, causing more than 30,000 excess deaths, widespread drought and devastating wildfires that forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes, particularly in Spain and France.Temperature records across the continent were shattered, triggering dangerous blazes even in normally cool, wet areas such as Belgium and Scotland.The total area affected by fire between June 18 and Sept. 2 was well above the average for the previous 20 years, according to data from the European Forest Fire Information System, or EFFIS.But it remained below the record set in 2025, when fires consumed more than 1.98 million acres between those dates.Exceptional scaleFour of the EU’s 15 largest fires of the past 10 years occurred this summer, according to EFFIS data.Fires that broke out between July 16 and 22 consumed nearly 469,500 acres of forest, the most for that weeklong period since at least 2006, according to harmonized weekly data from EFFIS.Three massive fires erupted in succession during that period: two in Spain and one in France.One in the Spanish province of Avila, near Madrid, broke out July 22 and went on to destroy more than 103,800 acres.Thousands of people were forced to evacuate their homes, and the Spanish government said it considered the blaze the worst in the country’s modern history.Another fire in the Andalusia region of southern Spain in July led to more than a dozen deaths.A megafire that started in France’s Gironde region, near Bordeaux, on the same day consumed 91,400 acres of forest.Another broke out in the Spanish province of Huelva in August, destroying nearly 108,700 acres and making it the sixth-largest fire ever recorded in Europe.North not sparedBefore the end of July, France had already broken its record for the total area burned in a single year since records began.Meanwhile, Spain had been hovering near its cumulative record for that point in the year for weeks — briefly surpassing it in mid-August before dropping back below.Greece, Portugal and Italy were among the other southern EU nations that experienced an active fire season, a common summer phenomenon in the region.Farther north, Belgium faced its worst wildfire in more than a century in August, a blaze that consumed thousands of acres in the country’s east.That single fire caused the country to break its record for the total area burned in a year since at least 2006.EFFIS figures include only fires covering at least 74 acres.The figures may differ from national data because of methodological differences, and the totals are subject to change as new satellite imagery becomes available.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads