![\"Jakub](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Jakub_Krupa.png\")
Jakub Krupa<\/p>\nFrance orders evacuation of Cap Ferret peninsula as thousands flee wildfiresJakub Krupa<\/p>\n
Thousands of people have been forced to flee parts of south-west France<\/a> amid worsening wildfires that prompted the authorities to order people to evacuate from the Cap Ferret peninsula along the Atlantic coast.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n More than 10,000 hectares are affected by the two concurrent wildfires, which last night crossed the firebreak established by firefighters.<\/p>\n The French authorities formally requested the activation of the European Union\u2019s Civil Protection Mechanism to tap into the bloc\u2019s resources as they battle the fires, with Emmanuel Macron saying the situation remained \u201cvery intense.\u201d<\/p>\n The EU\u2019s crisis commissioner, Hadja Lahbib, confirmed that \u201cfollowing France\u2019s activation of the EU\u2019s civil protection mechanism, the EU is providing assistance and deploying 3 water bomber aircraft.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n I will bring you all the updates here.<\/p>\n It\u2019s Friday, 24 July 2026, it\u2019s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.<\/p>\n Good morning.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 14m ago<\/p>\n EU to deploy four planes to Spain, three to France to assist local firefighters<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n 1h ago<\/p>\n Two wildfires west of Madrid on the verge of merging, official warns<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n 1h ago<\/p>\n Spanish firefighters battle to prevent ‘convergence’ of blazes, minister says<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n 2h ago<\/p>\n France conducts total evacuation of Cap Ferret peninsula as wildfire spreads<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n 2h ago<\/p>\n Declaration of national emergency in Spain is a big deal – snap analysis<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n 3h ago<\/p>\n South-east of France also hit by wildfires with 25 houses destroyed<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n 3h ago<\/p>\n Over 110,000 hectares of land burned by forest fires in 2026, Spanish authorities say<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n 3h ago<\/p>\n ‘We are living through a dramatic situation,’ Spain’s S\u00e1nchez says on wildfires in Spain, France<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n 3h ago<\/p>\n ‘Extreme’ fire danger around Spain as authorities seek help in battling wildfires<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n 3h ago<\/p>\n Spain requests support through the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism as it battles wildfires<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n 3h ago<\/p>\n Romania shoots down drone breaching its airspace, and explosions reported in Kyiv – monitoring<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n 3h ago<\/p>\n Evacuation of Cap Ferret in France – in pictures<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n 4h ago<\/p>\n 40,000 people ‘evacuated or being evacuated’ in French wildfire in Gironde, minister says<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n 4h ago<\/p>\n France orders evacuation of Cap Ferret peninsula as thousands flee wildfires<\/p>\n <\/a>EU to deploy four planes to Spain, three to France to assist local firefighters<\/p>\n Earlier today, the European Commission said it was following the situation in France and Spain with \u201cgreat concern,\u201d deploying its firefighting planes under the EU\u2019s Civil Protection Mechanism.<\/p>\n The EU has a fleet of 22 planes and five helicopters ready to deploy, alongside over 700 firefighters \u201cpre-positioned\u201d across the key risk areas.<\/p>\n Four firefighting planes will be sent to help in Spain, and three to France<\/a>, it said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe obviously hope that all hell will not break loose but we are preparing for a severe situation given that we will be seeing these extreme weather events more frequently, and they will be harshed and more brutal,\u201d EU spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> in Madrid<\/p>\n Forest fires in the area near the Spanish capital are nothing new.<\/p>\n Last year, a blaze hit Tres Cantos and Soto de Vi\u00f1uelas, half an hour\u2019s drive north of the city, killing one man, devouring 1,000 hectares of land and forcing the evacuation of dozens of people.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a piece I wrote about the fire\u2019s aftermath.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Two wildfires west of Madrid on the verge of merging, official warns<\/p>\n Two of three wildfires raging west of Madrid are \u201con the verge of merging\u201c into a single blaze, the regional government\u2019s representative in Madrid said on Friday, warning that the fire was \u201cout of control\u201d, AFP reported.<\/p>\n Wildfires force the evacuation of 10,000 locals near Madrid. Photograph: Jose Ignacio Viseras\/GTRES\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n \u201cTwo fires, the one in San Martin and the one in Villa del Prado, are on the verge of merging and becoming a single blaze advancing towards Navas del Rey,\u201d Francisco Martin told reporters, adding that further villages in the area were being evacuated.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> in Madrid<\/p>\n More evacuation orders have been issued for the Madrid municipalities of Chapiner\u00eda, Navas del Rey, and Colmenar del Arroyo.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Spanish firefighters battle to prevent ‘convergence’ of blazes, minister says<\/p>\n The main priority for firefighters tackling wildfires raging in villages around Madrid is to prevent the \u201cconvergence\u201d of the blazes, Spain\u2019s interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told reporters on Friday.<\/p>\n A firefighting helicopter drops water on the flames as a wildfire advances near Burgohondo, \u00c1vila province, Spain. Photograph: Manu Fern\u00e1ndez\/AP<\/p>\n The authorities were dealing with an \u201cunfavourable situation\u201d 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 AFP and made during a visit to the emergency command centre in the village of Cenicientos.<\/p>\n Several municipalities remained under confinement orders on Friday, AFP noted.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>France conducts total evacuation of Cap Ferret peninsula as wildfire spreads Europe correspondent<\/p>\n Authorities in south-western France<\/a> have ordered the total evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula on the Atlantic coast by land and sea as an \u201cintense and highly unpredictable\u201d wildfire advances on one of the country\u2019s best-known holiday spots.<\/p>\n The fire had burned more than 10,000 hectares (24,700 acres) by Friday morning, the French interior minister, Laurent Nu\u00f1ez, said, with 40,000 people already or about to be evacuated, including thousands of tourists from campsites and rental homes.<\/p>\n Boats began ferrying holidaymakers and residents off four piers on the peninsula early on Thursday after the Gironde prefecture ordered its progressive evacuation, \u201cvillage by village\u201d, by sea or by the only road linking the area with the mainland.<\/p>\n Brutal heat, as climate breakdown triggers more frequent and extreme weather events \u2013 causing thousands of excess deaths<\/a>, evaporating soils<\/a> and fuelling wildfires \u2013 has also prompted Spain to declare a national emergency, with blazes burning out of control.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Declaration of national emergency in Spain is a big deal – snap analysis in Madrid<\/p>\n Worth stressing that the declaration of a national emergency in Spain is a big deal.<\/p>\n A firefighting helicopter drops water on the flames as a wildfire advances near Burgohondo, \u00c1vila province, Spain. Photograph: Manu Fern\u00e1ndez\/AP<\/p>\n The move \u2013 which allows the central government to assume overall control of powers and responsibilities that are usually the domain of Spain\u2019s self-governing regions \u2013 has only happened once before, which was during the nationwide blackout in April 2025.<\/p>\n Spain\u2019s regional governments are sometimes reluctant to cede their powers to the central government when emergencies occur.<\/p>\n The deadly floods that hit Valencia at the end of October 2024, killing more than 230 people, were classified as a level 2 emergency, meaning that the regional government was in charge of the response effort.<\/p>\n Had the disaster been declared a level 3 emergency at the request of the Valencian government, then the central government would have stepped in \u2013 as has happened with the current wildfires.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.40 EDT<\/p>\n South-east of France also hit by wildfires with 25 houses destroyed<\/p>\n Over in France<\/a>, it\u2019s not just the south-west that gets affected, but the country\u2019s south-east regions are also being hard hit, AFP noted.<\/p>\n Dozens of fires flared up and are being fanned by the mistral wind around the historic village of Cotignac \u2013 officials saying around 25 houses had been destroyed since Tuesday.<\/p>\n A Canadair water bomber drops water on a fast moving wildfire as a firefighting helicopter flies above the smoke near Cotignac, France. Photograph: Durand Thibaut\/ABACA\/ShutterstockShare<\/a>Over 110,000 hectares of land burned by forest fires in 2026, Spanish authorities say in Madrid<\/p>\n In an update issued on Friday morning, Spain\u2019s environment ministry said 114,796.42 hectares of land had been burned by forest fires so far this year, compared with 25,133.26 by the same time last year.<\/p>\n It also said that 29 big forest fires had been recorded so far in 2026. That figure represents a huge increase from the average of nine big forest fires between January and the end of July per year over the past decade.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>‘We are living through a dramatic situation,’ Spain’s S\u00e1nchez says on wildfires in Spain, France in Madrid<\/p>\n Spain\u2019s prime minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez responded to the wildfires ravaging parts of country and neighbouring France, amid heightened warnings about their further spread.<\/p>\n In a post on X, he said<\/a>:<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re living through a dramatic situation, not just in various Spanish provinces but also in regions of neighbouring countries. Forest fires are devastating thousands of hectares and affecting numerous communities.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to express my deepest solidarity with all those who are watching the fire burn their forests and threaten their homes. The government has deployed all available resources. It will be by your side during the emergency and the recovery. Thank you to the BRIF (Forest Fire Brigades), the UME (Military Emergency Unit), the Security Forces, the Civil Protection System, and all the emergency services that are fighting day and night to stop the advance of the flames and extinguish the fire.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>‘Extreme’ fire danger around Spain as authorities seek help in battling wildfires in Madrid<\/p>\n On Thursday night, authorities in the Madrid region asked the central government to step in and declare the fires around the region a national emergency.<\/p>\n Spain\u2019s Military Emergencies Unit UME personnel fighting a wildfire in San Mart\u00edn de Valdeiglesias, Madrid. Photograph: X account of Spain’s Military Emergencies Unit UME (@UMEgob)\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Madrid\u2019s regional president, Isabel D\u00edaz Ayuso, commended the people of the region for their response to the fires and thanked the emergency services for their efforts.<\/p>\n \u201cWe remain attentive minute by minute, deeply grateful for the work, solidarity, and patience of everyone,\u201d she said. \u201cAs soon as the magnitude of this disaster is known, the Community of Madrid will announce aid and plans to mitigate its consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n In a video posted on social media, the shift commander for Madrid\u2019s emergency medical services urged people to be extra vigilant as the fires continued to burn.<\/p>\n \u201cIf people notice smoke or ashes in the air, we recommend that they do not take part in any outdoor activities,\u201d said Ester Armela. \u201cIf people have any chronic breathing problems of allergies, they should use facemasks when going outside.\u201d If people developed serious symptoms, she added, people they should ring the 112 emergency line.<\/p>\n Spain\u2019s prime minister, Pedro S\u00e1nchez, chaired an emergency response meeting at the Moncloa palace on Friday morning as the state meteorological office warned that the danger of more fires remained high.<\/p>\n \u201cToday, the fire danger will remain very high or extreme across most of the territory despite the drop in temperatures,\u201d it said. \u201cConditions will improve slightly over the weekend, but the danger will rise again in the following days.<\/p>\n Spain\u2019s interior ministry has also requested for fire-fighting aircraft through the European Union\u2019s Civil Protection Mechanism (10:53<\/a>).<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Spain requests support through the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism as it battles wildfires<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Spain has also requested the support of four firefighting aircraft through the European Union\u2019s Civil Protection Mechanism, the bloc\u2019s system for coordinating disaster assistance among member states, to help tackle multiple wildfires near Madrid, the interior ministry said.<\/p>\n Overnight, France did the same, as reported earlier (9:48<\/a>).<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Romania shoots down drone breaching its airspace, and explosions reported in Kyiv – monitoring There are also two other emerging news lines in Europe<\/a> this morning.<\/p>\n Romania\u2019s military just shot down a drone breaching its airspace, the country\u2019s president Nicu\u0219or Dan said. He said the drone was spotted over an uninhabited area of the country, allowing an F-16 fighter jet to shoot it down \u201cwithout any risks\u201d.<\/p>\n Elsewhere, the Ukrainian capital Kyiv is under a ballistic missile warning with explosions reported across the city, after Ukraine struck warehouses supplying Russian army overnight.<\/p>\n I will keep an eye on both of these stories for you.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a005.28 EDT<\/p>\n Evacuation of Cap Ferret in France – in picturesPeople on the beach in Andernos-Les Bains during fire in Lege Cap-Ferret forest, southwestern France. Photograph: Olivier Morin\/AFP\/Getty ImagesHolidaymakers from Lege-Cap-Ferret disembark from a boat upon their arrival in Arcachon during an evacuation operation of the entire Cap-Ferret peninsula, in southwestern France. Photograph: Romain Perrocheau\/AFP\/Getty ImagesA volunteer gives indication to holidaymakers from Lege-Cap-Ferret upon their arrival in Arcachon by boat during an evacuation operation of the entire Cap-Ferret peninsula, in southwestern France. Photograph: Romain Perrocheau\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Nu\u00f1ez also warned about a second fire in Biscarrosse, which he said was also \u201csignificant\u201d and \u201csomewhat similar\u201d to the main fire in Gironde since it broke out yesterday afternoon.<\/p>\n The entrance of the town of Biscarosse, southwestern France, with a sky turned hazy yellowish-grey by the smoke of a wildfire spreading through the surrounding forest. Photograph: Romain Perrocheau\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n It has burned over 2,500 hectares, prompting the evacuation of just over 20,000 people, he said.<\/p>\n The minister said that the weather conditions were \u201chighly unfavourable,\u201d making it difficult for more than 700 firefighters deployed there to tackle the blaze, and \u201cthe fire continues to spread.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>40,000 people ‘evacuated or being evacuated’ in French wildfire in Gironde, minister says<\/p>\n Speaking at a press conference this morning, France\u2019s interior minister Laurent Nu\u00f1ez said that the largest wildfire in Gironde \u2013 which started in Somos, but now moved to the Cap Ferret peninsula \u2013 has already burned more than 10,000 hectares.<\/p>\n Firefighters try to extinguishing fires burning trees using a wildland water truck near Le Porge, southwestern France. Photograph: Romain Perrocheau\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cAs I speak, a total of 40,000 people have been or are currently being evacuated due to this fire,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Nu\u00f1ez warned that \u201cthe fire is currently not under control and continues to spread,\u201d with around 1,000 firefighters involved in battling the blaze.<\/p>\n In total, more than 50,000 hectares have been burned in wildfires since the start of the year.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>France orders evacuation of Cap Ferret peninsula as thousands flee wildfires![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/5685.jpg\")
A French Civil Security Canadair CL-415 aircraft sprays water on a forest surrounding Cotignac, southeastern France. Photograph: Thibaud Moritz\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Holidaymakers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4390.jpg\")
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. Photograph: Romain Perrocheau\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2947.jpg\")
A wall of flames advances as a wildfire burns near Burgohondo, in \u00c1vila province, Spain. Photograph: Mateo Lanzuela\/Europa Press\/AP<\/p>\n![\"Sam](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Sam_Jones.png\")
Sam Jones<\/p>\nSam Jones<\/p>\n![\"Jon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Jon_Henley,_L.png\")
Jon Henley<\/p>\n![\"Thousands](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784893153_995_6000.jpg\")
Thousands evacuated in south of France as wildfire rages across pine forest \u2013\u00a0video<\/p>\nSam Jones<\/p>\nSam Jones<\/p>\nSam Jones<\/p>\nSam Jones<\/p>\nJakub Krupa<\/p>\nJakub Krupa<\/p>\n