France and Spain fires force more than 200,000 to flee homes

Firefighters spray water in a burning forest near Lacanau, southwestern France, Saturday, July 25, 2026. Emma Da Silva/AP hide caption toggle caption Emma Da Silva/AP Devastating wildfires in Spain and France have forced more than 200,000 people to evacuate. Across France, more than 167,000 people had been evacuated, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Saturday night, as some 30 fires burned simultaneously. The most devastating fires are in the Southwest, in the Gironde and Landes regions, French President Emmanuel Macron said on social media Saturday. The Gironde fire, near the popular tourist destination of Bordeaux, was not contained as of Saturday night. More than 242,000 acres have been burned in France this year — a historic record — the country's interior minister Laurent Nuñez said Saturday, according to Politico Europe. Prime Minister Lecornu warned that the coming hours could be difficult. "The situation remains particularly critical in the Gironde department. The abrupt change in weather conditions yesterday has profoundly altered the fire's dynamics," Lecornu wrote in a social media post. "After a slight improvement overnight and this morning, the forecast i...