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Raging wildfires are now just 15km (9 miles) from Bordeaux, the city’s mayor Thomas Cazenave said on Sunday, as the council considers a total evacuation of the region.
“It’s about 15 kilometres away from the entry points to the main city,” Cazenave said in an update on Sunday.
Bordeaux City Council is considering a total evacuation of the city, a spokesperson told Sky News, as it is “currently studying scenarios for all possible ways the fire could evolve.”
It is the sixth largest city in France when including both the city proper and surrounding metropolitan area, and is home to over 1.2 million people.
Nearby areas have all been evacuated as the fire advanced amid high winds.
French interior minister said that the blaze was “extremely virulent and unpredictable again, generating its own wind and spreading erratically toward the Bordeaux metropolitan area” on Saturday night but had calmed “somewhat” overnight. The situation “remains highly unfavourable”, he added.
One man died in a wildfire in Manises, near the Spanish city of Valencia, the country’s interior ministry said. He was found in a car in a ravine hundreds of kilometres away from the severe wildfires near Madrid.
Around 300,000 people have been displaced including some 70,000 people evacuated in central Spain.
A drone view shows a burnt building in an area affected by wildfire, in Le Porge, Gironde, amongst worsening drought conditions following a heatwave and water shortages across much of France (Reuters)
A gendarme covers a small hot spot with soil to prevent any risk of reignition during a patrol, as wildfires rage across the Gironde region amid worsening drought conditions following a heatwave and water shortages across much of the country, in Le Porge, France (Reuters)
People watch a wildfire from atop a vehicle, amid worsening drought conditions following a heatwave and water shortages across much of the country, in Marcheprime, France (Reuters)
An agricultural worker drives a tractor while wetting roadside vegetation as a preventive measure to help stop wildfires from spreading, as wildfires rage across the Gironde region amid worsening drought conditions following a heatwave and water shortages across much of France, near Sainte-Helene, France (Reuters)
Rebecca Whittaker27 July 2026 02:00
“The smell is horrible, you can’t breathe,” says Ira Szmuk, a resident living in the centre of the city of Bordeaux as raging wildfires creep closer by the hour.
“In the afternoon and evening, the winds bring all the smoke into town so we can’t go out. We do everything we need to do in the morning and then we lock ourselves in the house.”
Rebecca Whittaker27 July 2026 01:00
Arsonists tied flammable rags to cats’ tails and set them alight to ignite wildfires in Italy.
Deadly wildfires have continued to sweep across Europe, with extreme weather warnings and record temperatures devastating the continent.
However, not all of the blazes are believed to have been natural, with authorities investigating the “inhumane” method used at Pollino national park in Calabria, southern Italy.
Stray cats, who were released in the field to spread the blaze, were found amongst the smouldering remains.
“This is the work of a mind that is not merely malicious, but truly criminal,” said Domenico Costarella, of Calabria’s civil protection agency.
The Italian Association for the Defence of Animals and the Environment has called for a criminal investigation and offered a €1,000 reward for information that could help identify those who set the cats alight.
Rebecca Whittaker27 July 2026 00:00
A raging wildfire in southwest France forced the evacuation of 55,000 people overnight Sunday, taking the total forced out of their homes to 220,000 as the flames have crept ever closer to the wine region city of Bordeaux.
Authorities in the Gironde region, where Bordeaux is located, issued overnight evacuation orders for five more localities including some on the city’s approaches.
Rebecca Whittaker26 July 2026 23:00
Three fires in the South of France were started by “deliberate arson acts”, officials in Var have said.
It comes as more than 1,000 firefighters have been battling the fire at Gros-Bessillon mountain for six days.
In a post on X the Var prefecture said: “Enough is enough.”
“Simon Babre, préfet du Var, strongly condemns these deliberate arson acts, which constitute unacceptable and criminally reprehensible actions,” it added.
Rebecca Whittaker26 July 2026 22:50
Tourists have been urged to stay away from Nouvelle-Aquitaine which is popular for its Atlantic beaches and some of France’s largest woodlands.
One of France’s biggest wildfires is in Nouvelle-Aquitaine and it has spread towards Bordeaux, pushing officials to urge holiday-makers to stay away.
Sophie Brocas, the region’s prefect, said: “We urge tourists not to come to this region, at least until the situation is under control.
“I encourage tourists who are already here to consider another destination.”
Rebecca Whittaker26 July 2026 22:40
Firefighters battle a forest fire in Saint-Jean-d’Illac, some 30km from Bordeaux.
The 220,000 people evacuated due to the massive wildfire in France’s Gironde region will not be able to return home “until the fire has been brought under control”, the local prefect said.
A normal workday has also been ruled out on Monday in the affected towns, as the situation could worsen on Tuesday due to an expected rise in temperatures.
A forest fire rages in Saint-Jean-d’Illac, some 30km from Bordeaux (AFP/Getty)
A firefighter stands before flames as a forest fire rages in Saint-Jean-d’Illac (AFP/Getty)
Firefighters battle a forest fire in Saint-Jean-d’Illac, (AFP/Getty)
Rebecca Whittaker26 July 2026 22:30
Wildfires in Italy’s southern Puglia region has also forced tourists to evacuate.
A seaside resort in the region was evacuated due to a large wildfire in the Gargano area, the national fire department said.
More fires led to the temporary suspension of railway traffic around the city of Acireale in eastern Sicily and on the eastern Adriatic line south of the city of Termoli, rail company RFI said.
Pope Leo, speaking from his summer residence of Castel Gandolfo outside Rome, offered spiritual support.
“In light of the devastating wildfires that have affected various areas of France and Spain in recent days, I wish to express my solidarity and closeness, and I invite everyone to pray for those affected and for the rescue workers engaged in relief efforts,” he said.
Rebecca Whittaker26 July 2026 22:00
About 220,000 people have been evacuated in France, while in Spain more than 75,000 people have been evacuated and a further 30,000 ordered to shelter in place, authorities said.
In France, fires have ravaged the Cap Ferret peninsula on the Atlantic coast, a popular tourist destination, and spread through areas surrounding Bordeaux, where firefighters were trying to prevent the flames from reaching the regional capital.
Bordeaux Mayor Thomas Cazenave said the fire was about 15 km (9 miles) away from the entry points to the main city.
“We have a fire that is not under control and which is moving in the direction of the city area,” Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told France 2 TV on Sunday evening.
“The overall situation is very unfavourable, we are in a situation that is unprecedented.”
Rebecca Whittaker26 July 2026 21:30
Three men in Gironde have been arrested on suspicion of endangering lives.
Fires in the region saw about 42,000 hectares burned in a few days.
According to prosecutors two of the men who were arrested are accused of setting off fireworks.
Rebecca Whittaker26 July 2026 21:12