The Fires in France and Spain Are Breaking Modern Records

By Josh Holder and Samuel Granados

July 28, 2026

France cumulative burnt area France 0 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 acres burned 2022 2019 2026 Jan. March May July Sept. Nov.

France cumulative burnt area France 0 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 acres burned 2022 2019 2025 2026 Jan. March May July Sept. Nov.

Spain cumulative burnt area Spain 0 200,000 400,000 600,000 800,000 1,000,000 acres burned 2025 2022 2026 Jan. March May July Sept. Nov.

Spain cumulative burnt area Spain 0 200,000 400,000 600,000 800,000 1,000,000 acres burned 2025 2022 2012 2026 Jan. March May July Sept. Nov.

Note: Dashed lines show the latest data, which is often revised upwards. Source: European Forest Fire Information System.

The extraordinary growth of a few enormous wildfires in France and Spain in the last two weeks has transformed an above-average fire season into a record-breaking one.

Forty percent more land has already burned in France than in the previous record year documented by the European Forest Fire Information System, which began tracking burned areas in 2006.

In Spain, the amount of land consumed so far this year is nearly at record levels for the last two decades.

The two largest wildfires are the largest recorded in France and Spain since European Union data began. They have forced hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate and threatened Bordeaux in France and Madrid and Valencia in Spain.

Fires since

July 20

Bordeaux

FRANCE

SPAIN

Madrid

PORTUGAL

Valencia

Mediterranean

Sea

ALGERIA

250 miles

Atlantic

Ocean

Bordeaux

Fires since

July 20

FRANCE

Marseille

Madrid

PORTUGAL

Valencia

SPAIN

Mediterranean

Sea

ALGERIA

250 miles

Source: VIIRS satellite fire detection data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration via NASA.

Rarely have so many enormous fires burned in Europe at the same time. Three of the fifteen largest European fires in the last decade have burned this month — two near Madrid and one near Bordeaux.

Three of the fifteen largest European fires of the last decade were burning this month

Burnedarea

1. Évros,  2023

Greece 238,729 acres

2. Viseu Dão Lafões,  2017

Portugal 166,848 acres

3. Região de Coimbra,  2017

Portugal 158,941 acres

4. Beiras e Serra da Estrela,  2025

Portugal 153,462 acres

5. Evia,  2021

Greece 128,201 acres

6. Ávila,  2026

Spain 109,722 acres

7. Zamora,  2025

Spain 99,042 acres

8. Gironde,  2026

France 96,724 acres

9. Beiras e Serra da Estrela,  2025

Portugal 92,959 acres

10. Ourense,  2025

Spain 91,871 acres

11. Médio Tejo,  2017

Portugal 87,908 acres

12. Viseu Dão Lafões,  2024

Portugal 87,779 acres

13. Região de Coimbra,  2017

Portugal 86,101 acres

14. La Mierla,  2026

Spain 81,599 acres

15. Zamora,  2022

Spain 80,378 acres

Note: The size of the fires in this chart comes from satellite analysis by the European Forest Fire Information System, which may lag estimates released by officials by a few days. Fires are referred to by the province in which they began. The fire labeled La Mierla uses the name common in press reports. Source: European Forest Fire Information System.

Europe has been hit by successive heat waves since late May, and last month was the hottest June on record in Western Europe, according to Copernicus, the European Union’s climate monitoring service.

The heat has dried out vegetation across the region, allowing fires to spread quickly, and the Spanish and French authorities say that erratic winds have made the fires difficult to stop.

A satellite image captured Sunday shows a 30-mile-wide burned area where the Ávila fire has been raging west of Madrid. Another large, scorched area can be seen northeast of the capital where the La Mierla fire, which was stabilized last week, consumed more than 80,000 acres.

July 26

Burned

areas

La Mierla

fire

Ávila and Madrid fires

Madrid

30 miles

SPAIN

Smoke

July 26

Burned

areas

La Mierla fire

Ávila and Madrid fires

Madrid

Detail

30 miles

SPAIN

Smoke

July 26

Burned

areas

La Mierla fire

Ávila and Madrid fires

Madrid

30 miles

Detail

Smoke

SPAIN

Source: Copernicus Sentinel-2 (satellite image).

Firefighters are racing to control the fires before another heat wave hits France and Spain this week. Temperatures are forecast to climb to 104 degrees Fahrenheit, or 40 degrees Celsius, in some areas.

Last year saw a record-breaking fire season across Europe, with more than 2.5 million acres burned. The fires of the last two weeks have propelled 2026 ahead of last year at the same time, with more land burned than by this point in 2025.

There could be more destruction to come. Last year, about 60 percent of wildfire damage occurred in August alone. And many parts of Europe outside France and Spain have yet to be hit particularly hard this year.

European Union cumulative burnt area European Union 0 500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000 2,500,000 acres burned 2025 2017 2022 2026 Jan. Feb. March April May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.

Note: Dashed line shows the latest data, which is often revised upwards. Source: European Forest Fire Information System