![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784898375_180_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
A wall of flames advances as a wildfire burns near Burgohondo, in \u00c1vila province, Spain, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (Mateo Lanzuela\/Europa Press via AP)<\/p>\n
A wall of flames advances as a wildfire burns near Burgohondo, in \u00c1vila province, Spain, Thursday, July 23, 2026. (Mateo Lanzuela\/Europa Press via AP)<\/p>\n
Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n
Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n
Share<\/p>\n
Read More<\/p>\n
Southern Europe has seen multiple large fires<\/a> this summer. Europe is the world\u2019s fastest-warming continent<\/a>, with temperatures increasing twice as quickly as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union\u2019s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, making the region more vulnerable to wildfires. <\/p>\n Spain struggles to tackle multiple fires amid a heatwave<\/p>\n The national emergency in Spain means that the nation\u2019s interior ministry, which controls police and security forces, has taken charge of overseeing the firefighting efforts by Spain\u2019s regions as they struggle to battle multiple blazes that are being fanned by a heatwave. Another large fire in the central province of \u00c1vila prompted national authorities to step in.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Residents spend the night at a sports center after being evacuated from their homes because of the threat of a wildfire in Cebreros, \u00c1vila province, Spain, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo\/Manu Fernandez)<\/p>\n Residents spend the night at a sports center after being evacuated from their homes because of the threat of a wildfire in Cebreros, \u00c1vila province, Spain, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo\/Manu Fernandez)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n \u201cAll around the town was smoke and fire, I was scared. Everything was fire and smoke, people were nervous,\u201d 33-year-old Joaquin Espinosa told The Associated Press before he and his neighbors were evacuated from the village of Chapiner\u00eda, located less than an hour\u2019s drive west of Madrid.<\/p>\n The regional government of Madrid, which spans a wide area around the capital city, said that around 18,000 people had been evacuated from different villages and towns west of the capital as multiple fires raged out of control late on Thursday.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n Sign up for Morning Wire:<\/strong> \u201cIn my 60 years I have never seen something like this in my village, I have never seen fire of these dimensions,\u201d Francisco Mart\u00ednez, the mayor of Burgohondo, whose 1,500 residents were preventively evacuated in \u00c1vila, told Spain\u2019s national broadcaster TVE.<\/p>\n Spain\u2019s military emergency brigades and national firefighting brigades have mobilized to support regional firefighting units and water-dumping aircraft. Spanish Minister for the Ecological Transition Sara Aagesen said that Spain has seen an 1,140 square kilometers (440 square miles) already burned this year, more than five times the burned terrain it had through the first half of 2025.<\/p>\n Grande-Marlaska said that in addition to the major fires in Madrid and in \u00c1vila that have required the national government to get directly involved, there are nine serious fires in other parts of Spain.<\/p>\n Temperatures are expected to top 39 degrees Celsius (102 Fahrenheit) in parts of Spain on Friday, with a high of 44 C (111 F) in Almeria in the southeast.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Smoke and flames rise as a wildfire advances near Burgohondo, \u00c1vila province, Spain, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo\/Manu Fernandez)<\/p>\n Smoke and flames rise as a wildfire advances near Burgohondo, \u00c1vila province, Spain, Friday, July 24, 2026. (AP Photo\/Manu Fernandez)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Spanish television showed video taken by retreating residents of walls of flames topped by long plumes of smoke advancing through woods and scrublands. High winds and hilly terrain complicated efforts by firefighters, who combated the blazes with firetrucks and bulldozers.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s fires include Spain\u2019s second-largest ever fire<\/a> that consumed some 320 square kilometers (120 square miles) in recent days in the province of Guadalajara north of Madrid. Thirteen people were also killed<\/a> in a fire in southern Spain earlier this month, the deadliest fire in recent memory for Spain.<\/p>\n S\u00e1nchez called on Wednesday for a pact between political parties to fight climate change that he said is key to adapting to a more fire-prone climate.<\/p>\n Authorities have not identified the cause of the fires near Madrid. Fires can be caused by sparks from agricultural machinery, lightning strikes, an errant cigarette or even intentional arson.<\/p>\n Spain\u2019s government declared a national emergency on Friday after multiple wildfires forced the evacuation of some 10,000 people in the central region of Madrid.<\/p>\n Thousands flee flames in southern France<\/p>\n In France, some 100 square kilometers (38 square miles) have been burned by the blaze that has been raging since Wednesday near the touristic Cap Ferret peninsula. <\/p>\n Located just 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Bordeaux, the peninsula offers stunning landscapes and sandy beaches as well as oyster-farming villages and upmarket resorts.<\/p>\n More than 20,000 people had already been evacuated from towns and vacation resorts on Thursday. The new evacuations were carried out by road, with boat shuttles provided for people who could not travel by their own means.<\/p>\n Hundreds of firefighters have been deployed and additional ground and aerial reinforcements have been sent to tackle the blaze. Meanwhile, another major wildfire burned further south down the coast in the municipalities of Biscarrosse and Parentis-en-Born. It remained uncontained as strong winds did not help firefighters.<\/p>\n \n People leave the Ares region during wildfires, western France, Friday July 24, 2026. (AP Photo\/Caroline Blumberg)\n <\/p>\n People leave the Ares region during wildfires, western France, Friday July 24, 2026. (AP Photo\/Caroline Blumberg)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n \n A water bomber drops water while fighting wildfires In Ares, western France, Friday July 24, 2026. (AP Photo\/Caroline Blumberg)\n <\/p>\n A water bomber drops water while fighting wildfires In Ares, western France, Friday July 24, 2026. (AP Photo\/Caroline Blumberg)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Sicily is burning<\/p>\n In Italy, wildfires continued to ravage parts of Sicily, with the central-western province of Agrigento particularly hard hit.<\/p>\n Italy\u2019s national fire department reported late Thursday that it had mounted over 1,400 operations since last weekend, 240 of which were in the Agrigento area. By Friday, seven of Sicily\u2019s nine provinces remained at the highest level of alert for wildfires, with only the eastern coastal provinces of Messina and Catania registering a lower risk level, the civil protection reported in its daily bulletin.<\/p>\n Fueled by temperatures that have topped 40C (104F), low humidity and winds, the blazes have forced scattered evacuations and were blamed for the death of a firefighter responding to a fire in Caltanissetta.<\/p>\n![\"Residents](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784898376_390_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Our flagship newsletter breaks down the biggest headlines of the day.\n <\/p>\n![\"Smoke](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784898377_625_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"People](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784898378_604_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1784898379_601_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n