Thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes and holiday camps as devastating wildfires continue to spread across parts of Italy, France and Spain, fuelled by extreme heat and strong winds.
The fires have claimed the lives of three firefighters as southern Europe battles another intense heatwave, with temperatures rising above 40°C in several areas.
Climate scientists have consistently warned that human-driven climate change, caused largely by the burning of fossil fuels, is increasing the frequency, duration and intensity of extreme weather events such as heatwaves and wildfires.
In Italy, emergency responders continued efforts to contain dozens of fires across Sicily, where about 6,000 firefighters, forest guards and civil protection personnel have been deployed alongside water-bombing aircraft.
Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi confirmed that one firefighter died after falling ill while responding to the fires.
A spokesperson for Italy’s Civil Protection Agency described the situation in Sicily as critical, saying the fires were being intensified by soaring temperatures and exceptionally dry conditions.
More than 160 separate fires have also been reported in the Calabria region, where local authorities accused suspected arsonists of deliberately igniting some of the blazes. Officials alleged that flammable materials were tied to stray cats in an attempt to spread the fires.
In France, more than 10,000 tourists were evacuated from campsites and holiday accommodation near Bordeaux after a wildfire tore through a coastal pine forest.
The blaze in Le Porge has destroyed about 2,000 hectares of land since Wednesday.
The latest emergency follows the deaths of two firefighters earlier this week while battling another wildfire near Bordeaux Airport.
France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nunez met with the families of the fallen firefighters as unions warned that emergency crews were facing growing exhaustion and limited resources.
“We’re dealing with a very dense stand of closely packed pines,” firefighter Captain Wilfried Schneider said, describing the wildfire as one of unusual intensity.
Residents described thick black smoke covering the skies as the fire rapidly spread.
“We saw a big cloud of black smoke spread across the sky in the middle of the afternoon,” said Bordeaux resident Julie Leonard.
Long-time resident Bernard Roche also described the severe conditions.
“If I’d been brave, I would have stayed in my cabin, but it was too hot. I got in my car and left,” he said.
Authorities evacuated around 700 residents in Le Porge, while more than 3,000 campers were relocated as a precaution.
In neighbouring Spain, firefighters made progress overnight in containing a major wildfire south of Madrid, allowing many evacuated residents to return home.
However, some communities, including El Encinar del Alberche in Villa del Prado, remain under evacuation orders.
Emergency officials described overnight firefighting operations as “very positive”, although the fire has yet to be fully contained and several roads remain closed.
Elsewhere in Spain, hundreds of firefighters continue battling a much larger wildfire in Guadalajara province, which has burned approximately 32,000 hectares since it began last week.
According to the European Forest Fire Information System, Spain recorded more than 393,000 hectares destroyed by wildfires in 2025, marking the country’s worst wildfire season in recent history.
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