12,000 Evacuated as France Battles Wildfires after Two Firefighter Tragedies

Sun Sep 06 2026 11:15:18 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

France reels from a surge of wildfires that have forced the evacuation of 12,000 people, following the deaths of two firefighters near Bordeaux. The heatwave’s fury is spreading across Europe.

Uplands in south‑west France are still fighting a devastating wildfire crisis that has forced the evacuation of around 12,000 residents and tourists. The region has lost more than 2,000 hectares to flames, and authorities have shut down major roads and banned use of combustion engines in forested areas. Two firefighters died near Bordeaux airport a week ago, prompting national mourning. While France is still under a red alert, Italy’s Sicily is also battling over 350 fires; the European heatwave has pushed temperatures to 36°C in Madrid and led to record‑high wildfire burn areas and emissions. Climate change reports highlight the continent’s rapid warming, prompting stricter emergency measures.

About 12,000 people have been evacuated from the south‑west of France amid a series of wildfires that turned the region into a rampant inferno. The fires have scorched more than 2,000 hectares of land and forced authorities to ban the use of internal‑combustion and electric vehicles in forested zones. Roads have been shut for safety, but there were no reported injuries on Thursday.

The Gironde region’s government confirmed the extent of the damage and named the fires responsible for the evacuations. Previous week’s tragedies—two firefighters died near Bordeaux airport—have shocked the country. French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez posted photos of a tribute service and expressed his gratitude toward the firefighters’ families.

Meanwhile, across the Mediterranean, Sicily recorded more than 350 fires on the island, including ten major occurrences that led to precautionary evacuations. Salvo Cocina, head of Sicilian Civil Protection, warned that these human‑caused flames illustrate a growing social and public‑order problem surrounding fire‑fighting.

In France, 10,000 tourists were among those evacuated, illustrating the tourism industry’s vulnerability to wildfires. The Gironde region remains under a red alert; leisure sites in exposed forest areas were closed later in the day.

Spain also feels the heatwave’s impact, with a significant fire that has required almost 90 personnel and a helicopter for direct attack operations. A Spanish weather service predicts temperatures up to 36 °C for Thursday afternoon, bringing an extreme risk of fires.

These events are part of an unprecedented heatwave that across Europe has recorded record temperatures for 2025, according to a Copernicus Climate Change Service report. The report highlighted that the continent experienced above‑average temperatures, and wildfire burn areas and emissions hit record levels last year.