{"id":57665,"date":"2026-07-27T21:39:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T21:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/57665\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T21:39:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T21:39:08","slug":"france-wildfires-before-and-after-satellite-images-show-smoke-damage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/57665\/","title":{"rendered":"France Wildfires: Before-and-After Satellite Images Show Smoke, Damage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Weeks of record-breaking heat<\/a> and fast-moving wildfires have scorched large swaths of France.<\/p>\n

French Interior Minister Laurent Nu\u00f1ez said in a statement<\/a> on Friday that 116,085 hectares of land had burned in wildfires across France this year, amounting to the country’s worst wildfire season on record.<\/p>\n

Around 250,000 people have been evacuated in the affected areas of the Gironde and Landes regions of southwest France since the wildfires began in mid-July, France’s Interior Ministry said.<\/p>\n

Record-breaking heat waves across Europe and prolonged drought conditions have contributed to the severity of the damage.<\/p>\n

Photos show plumes of smoke visible from space, burned remains of neighborhoods, and France’s continued firefighting efforts.<\/p>\n

A satellite photo of Pontev\u00e8s, France, taken on July 19, before the wildfires broke out, showed the valleys, vineyards, and landscapes that have made it a tourist destination.<\/p>\n

\"Satellite<\/p>\n

Satellite imagery of Pontev\u00e8s, France, taken on July 19, before it was affected by wildfires.<\/p>\n

2026 Planet Labs PBC\/Handout via REUTERS <\/p>\n

This satellite photo from July 21 showed thick smoke clouds from active wildfires engulfing the region.<\/p>\n

\"Satellite<\/p>\n

Satellite imagery of a wildfire in Pontev\u00e8s, France, taken on July 21, 2026.<\/p>\n

2026 Planet Labs PBC\/Handout via REUTERS <\/p>\n

On the ground, firefighters in Pontev\u00e8s deployed hose teams to put out remaining flames and prevent reignition in the blackened forests.<\/p>\n

\"Firefighters<\/p>\n

Firefighters near Domaine de la Marseillaise in Pontev\u00e8s, Var, France.<\/p>\n

Thibaut Durand\/Hans Lucas via Reuters Connect <\/p>\n

Before the wildfires, a satellite image taken near Le Porge in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France, on July 21 showed parts of the coastal village and surrounding pine forests.<\/p>\n

\"Satellite<\/p>\n

Satellite imagery shows an area before it was affected by wildfire, near Le Porge, in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France, on July 21.<\/p>\n

2026 PLANET LABS PBC\/via REUTERS <\/p>\n

Just two days later, satellite imagery showed wildfires producing plumes of smoke.<\/p>\n

\"Satellite<\/p>\n

Satellite imagery shows burned areas and smoke rising from a wildfire near Le Porge on July 23.<\/p>\n

2026 Planet Labs PBC\/Handout via REUTERS <\/p>\n

Le Porge was devastated by the wildfires, its streets strewn with the charred remnants of homes and vehicles.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A drone captured a burnt building in an area affected by wildfire, in Le Porge, Gironde, on July 26.<\/p>\n

Manon Cruz\/REUTERS <\/p>\n

Smoke from nearby wildfires cast a yellow haze over the French city of Bordeaux, known for its Gothic architecture and red wine.<\/p>\n

\"Bordeaux,<\/p>\n

Bordeaux, France, was covered in smoke from wildfires.<\/p>\n

Ed Jones\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

The Bordeaux Exhibition Center was converted into an emergency shelter for evacuees, offering food, medical care, and psychological services.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Wildfire evacuees in the Bordeaux Exhibition Center.<\/p>\n

Albert Llop\/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect <\/p>\n

Smoke-filled skies glowed orange over Ar\u00e8s in the Gironde department in southwestern France.<\/p>\n

\"Smoke<\/p>\n

Smoke from wildfires in Ar\u00e8s, Gironde, France.<\/p>\n

Stephane Mahe\/REUTERS <\/p>\n

Over 250,000 firefighters continue to work across France to contain and extinguish the flames, the French Interior Ministry said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A firefighter in Saint-Jean-d’Illac near Bordeaux, France.<\/p>\n

ROMAIN PERROCHEAU\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

The French government also deployed aircraft, including Canadair water bombers, Dash 8 aerial firefighters, and French Air Force A400M military transport planes, to aid firefighters on the ground.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A Canadair water bomber drops water on an advancing wildfire near Cotignac, Var, France.<\/p>\n

Thibaut Durand\/Hans Lucas\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Weeks of record-breaking heat and fast-moving wildfires have scorched large swaths of France. French Interior Minister Laurent Nu\u00f1ez…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57666,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[36244,22284,73,36243,5,33013,18133,36249,36245,19394,36246,26840,36248,36247,10933,3693],"class_list":["post-57665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-france","tag-bad-wildfire-season","tag-damage","tag-europe","tag-fast-moving-wildfire","tag-france","tag-france-wildfires","tag-heat-wave","tag-hectare","tag-landes-region","tag-photo","tag-plume","tag-record","tag-record-breaking-heat","tag-smoke","tag-southwest-france","tag-week"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57665\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57666"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}