The out-of-control wildfires threatening European tourist hotspots, in pictures

Around 12,000 people have been forced to evacuate from tourism hotspots in south-western France due to the threat of a fast-moving wildfire, with Spain and Italy also struggling to contain their own outbreaks. More than 500 firefighters have been deployed to tackle the blaze that is raging west of Bordeaux, with the majority of the displaced said to be tourists. Two emergency workers died on Tuesday when their truck was trapped in the path of the flames. Local authorities reported that around 5,000 acres of land has already been destroyed by the fire and that the situation “remains unfavourable”. The local mayor, Martial Zaninetto, suggested that the blaze may have been sparked by industrial machinery. Shorts Captain Wilfried Schneider, a spokesperson for the firefighting service, said they are “dealing with a very dense stand of closely packed pines” and fires of “rare” intensity. However, fires of this kind are looking less and less rare. In recent years, wildfires have devastated parts of the US and Canada, as well as swathes of Europe. In France, reception and respite areas have now been opened for evacuees, with more than 2,500 of the displaced taking shelter in them, according to local officials. Forestry work and the use of barbecues has been banned, with hot, dry weather continuing and wildfire risks still high, according to national weather forecaster Meteo France. Spain is also contending with its worst wildfire of the year, in the Guadalajara region near Madrid, which has forced the evacuation of dozens of rural communities and seen confinement orders put in place in others. Thousands of people in southern France have been evacuated due to the wildfires, with many taking shelter in government-provided temporary accommodation (Photo: Romain Perrocheau/AFP) The Spanish government said the blaze that broke out on 16 July is being brought under control “little by little”, with another fire in the Castilla region now said to be contained. The European Union’s Copernicus satellite monitoring system said that wildfires have destroyed more than 123,000 hectares of land across Spain this year, around four times the figure for the same period of 2025. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited fire-affected regions on Wednesday and called for a “grand national pact against the climate emergency” across national party divides. A wildfire advances in Guadalajara province of Spain. The country’s weather agency expects the threat of wildfires to increase in the coming days (Photo: Manu Fernandez/AP) Wildfires in the Almeria region earlier this month killed 12 people and forced mass evacuations. Beaches in the Costa Blanca region of southern Spain – a popular destination for British holidaymakers – will also be closed from Thursday due to a combination of extreme heat and storm warnings, local authorities announced. Spain’s weather agency Aemet said the threat of wildfires was “very high or extreme” across most of mainland Spain, and was expected to increase in the coming days. Forest rangers take a break before returning to battle a fire in central Spain. The region has already seen several heatwaves this year, with temperatures forecast to rise further in the coming weeks (Photo: Manu Fernandez/AP) Blazes are also raging across the Italian island of Sicily, with 6,000 emergency workers as well as water-bombing aircraft battling dozens of fires across the popular tourist destination. Francesco Cacciatore, mayor of the town of Santo Stefano di Quisquina, described the situation as “dramatic” and urged local residents to evacuate immediately. Italy’s interior minister, Matteo Piantedosi, named a firefighter killed tackling the blaze as Alessandro Marchi and said he died “in service to the community”. Water-dropping helicopters battle wildfires in Sicily, which have resulted in the death of at least one firefighter (Photo: Alberto Lo Bianco/Getty) Meanwhile, Greece and Cyprus have issued wildfire alerts as temperatures topped 40°C and banned outdoor work during the hottest part of the day. Data from Reuters showed that wildfires have already burned more land in Europe this year than the annual average over the past two decades, with the continent affected by three major heatwaves so far in 2026. Extreme conditions are forecast to continue across much of the Mediterranean region in the coming days, with some areas expected to see temperatures reach 44°C.