Wildfires force evacuation of thousands in France and Spain
World · 24 July 2026
Written by AI from multiple news reports
Huge wildfires forced more than 100,000 people to leave their homes in France and Spain on 23 and 24 July.
In France, around 92,000 people were evacuated near the Cap Ferret peninsula on the Atlantic coast. Some had to escape by boat. The fire started on Wednesday and burned through 125 square kilometres by Friday. It destroyed 53 homes and a campsite, and 42 firefighters were hurt.
In Spain, about 25,000 people left towns west of Madrid. The Spanish government declared a national emergency because of the fires, which it has never done before.