Around 12,000 people, including some 10,000 tourists, have been evacuated from south-west France as wildfires continue to burn in the Gironde region, days after two firefighters died tackling a blaze near Bordeaux airport. The fires are part of a wider pattern of severe wildfires across southern Europe this summer, driven by prolonged heatwaves, with Italy and Spain also battling major blazes and casualties among firefighting personnel.

More than 2,000 hectares (4,000 acres) have been destroyed in Gironde, which remains under a red alert, with combustion and electric engines banned in forested areas and several roads and leisure sites closed. In Italy, a firefighter died and another was injured battling one of over 350 fires in Sicily, which officials said have largely been started deliberately; in Spain, most evacuated Madrid residents have been allowed home except near Villa del Prado, where nearly 90 personnel and a helicopter are fighting an ongoing blaze amid forecast temperatures of up to 36C. A Copernicus Climate Change Service report found 95% of Europe recorded above-average temperatures in 2025, with wildfire-burnt area and emissions both reaching record levels.