France evacuates Cap Ferret peninsula and Spain’s Sanchez warns of ‘dramatic situation’ as wildfires spread – Europe live

Evacuees have been told to leave using hundreds of mobilised boats or the only road linking the area with the mainland Over in France, it’s not just the south-west that gets affected, but the country’s south-east regions are also being hard hit, noted. Dozens of fires flared up and are being fanned by the mistral wind around the historic village of Cotignac – officials saying around 25 houses had been destroyed since Tuesday.

Perrocheau/ / View image in fullscreen People evacuating Cap Ferret. Perrocheau/ / From 3h ago 09.48 CEST France orders evacuation of Cap Ferret peninsula as thousands flee wildfires Jakub Krupa Thousands of people have been forced to flee parts of south-west France amid worsening wildfires that prompted the authorities to order people to evacuate from the Cap Ferret peninsula along the Atlantic coast. A French Civil Security Canadair CL-415 aircraft sprays water on a forest surrounding Cotignac, southeastern France.

Moritz/ / Evacuees have been told to leave the area before 10am, using hundreds of mobilised boats or the only road linking the area with the mainland. Holidaymakers from Lege-Cap-Ferret carry their belongings along the pier upon their arrival in Arcachon during an evacuation operation of the entire Cap-Ferret peninsula in southwestern France. Perrocheau/ / More than 10,000 hectares are affected by the two concurrent wildfires, which last night crossed the firebreak established by firefighters.

The French authorities formally requested the activation of the European Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism to tap into the bloc’s resources as they battle the fires, with Emmanuel Macron saying the situation remained “very intense. The EU’s crisis commissioner, Hadja Lahbib, confirmed that “following France’s activation of the EU’s civil protection mechanism, the EU is providing assistance and deploying 3 water bomber aircraft. Dangerous situation is also unfolding in Spain, with the Spanish government declaring a national emergency over wildfires near Madrid and Avila, forcing more than 10,000 people to evacuate.

A wall of flames advances as a wildfire burns near Burgohondo, in Ávila province, Spain. Lanzuela/Europa Press/AP I will bring you all the updates here. It’s Friday, 24 July 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.

The main priority for firefighters tackling wildfires raging in villages around Madrid is to prevent the “convergence” of the blazes, Spain’s interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told reporters on Friday. View image in fullscreen A firefighting helicopter drops water on the flames as a wildfire advances near Burgohondo, Ávila province, Spain. Fernández/AP The authorities were dealing with an “unfavourable situation” due to strong wind gusts of more than 50 kilometres (30 miles) per hour, low humidity and high temperatures, he added in comments reported by and made during a visit to the emergency command centre in the village of Cenicientos.

Several municipalities remained under confinement orders on Friday, noted. More than 430 elderly people and people with disabilities from five care homes were among the evacuated, the regional government of Madrid said in a statement. Authorities in south-western France have ordered the total evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula on the Atlantic coast by land and sea as an “intense and highly unpredictable” wildfire advances on one of the country’s best-known holiday spots.

1:12 Thousands evacuated in south of France as wildfire rages across pine forest – video The fire had burned more than 10,000 hectares (24,700 acres) by Friday morning, the French interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, said, with 40,000 people already or about to be evacuated, including thousands of tourists from campsites and rental homes. Boats began ferrying holidaymakers and residents off four piers on the peninsula early on Thursday after the Gironde prefecture ordered its progressive evacuation, “village by village”, by sea or by the only road linking the area with the mainland. Brutal heat, as climate breakdown triggers more frequent and extreme weather events – causing thousands of excess deaths, evaporating soils and fuelling wildfires – has also prompted Spain to declare a national emergency, with blazes burning out of control. Worth stressing that the declaration of a national emergency in Spain is a big deal.””