Deadly wildfires force thousands from homes in parts of Europe

Wildfires swept parts of Italy, France and Spain on Wednesday, killing three firefighters and forcing thousands of residents to flee their homes. Scorching temperatures topping 40C and strong winds fueled the blazes across the Mediterranean region.

Southern Europe is enduring another spell of severe heat that has intensified fire conditions in multiple countries.

How many people have fled the European wildfires?

Thousands of people across Italy, France and Spain have been displaced by the fires. In France alone, authorities evacuated 12,000 people from the southwest region, with more urged to leave. Additional evacuations have taken place in Sicily and near Madrid and Toledo in Spain as blazes threatened homes and villages.

What is causing the wildfires in Italy, France and Spain?

Scientists agree that climate change, driven largely by human-caused fossil fuel emissions, is making extreme weather events such as wildfires and heatwaves more frequent and severe. Dry soil and very high temperatures have fueled the blazes across the Mediterranean, according to Italy's Civil Protection Agency, which described the situation in Sicily as serious.

Not every fire has a natural cause. More than 160 fires have also been recorded in Italy's Calabria region, which the head of local civil protection said were deliberate cases of arson carried out by malicious individuals. Investigators said these individuals tied rags soaked in flammable liquid to the tails of stray cats to spread the flames.

In France, officials have not ruled out human involvement either. Le Porge Mayor Martial Zaninetti said a fire in the area could have been started by a machine used to clear forest track, though this had not been officially confirmed as of Wednesday.

How is Italy battling the wildfires in Sicily?

Around 6,000 firefighters, forest guards and civil protection officials have battled dozens of fires that have raged for days across the Mediterranean island. Sicilian regional President Renato Schifani said about 50 fires were still burning despite the deployment of water-bombing aircraft.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said a firefighter died after falling ill while fighting the flames, one of three firefighter deaths reported across the region this week. A spokesperson for Italy's Civil Protection Agency told AFP the situation in Sicily remains serious, with the fires fueled by very high temperatures and very dry soil.

What is happening with the wildfires in France?

Two firefighters died on Tuesday while tackling a blaze that broke out near Bordeaux airport. France's Interior Minister Laurent Nunez met the firefighters' families on Wednesday, as unions warned that crews were facing exhaustion and a lack of resources.

Two raging fires displaced thousands of people in the country's southwest. One fire alone burned around 2,000 hectares, nearly 5,000 acres, in the scenic Arcachon Basin region near Bordeaux. Firefighter Captain Wilfried Schneider described a fire of rare intensity, saying crews were dealing with a very dense stand of closely packed pines.

Bordeaux resident Julie Leonard said she saw a large cloud of black smoke spread across the sky in the middle of the afternoon. Bernard Roche, 75, who has lived in the area for 35 years, said he left because it was too hot to stay, describing the forest as unusually dry in recent days.

Around 700 people left their homes as a precaution in the town of Le Porge, where more than 3,000 campers were also relocated, according to the local prefecture. A separate blaze in the Var region, along France's Mediterranean coast between Marseille and Nice, forced about 400 people to evacuate after erupting Tuesday and spreading at an unexpectedly fast pace. Nearly 1,000 firefighters and specialized water aircraft worked to contain that fire, which burned 2,550 hectares. In total, the Gironde prefecture said 12,000 people have been evacuated in southwest France, and the prefect has called for hundreds more to leave.

How is Spain responding to the wildfires near Madrid and Toledo?

Authorities ordered the evacuation of several districts on Wednesday around the city of Toledo, south of Madrid, after a major wildfire threatened homes. Emergency alerts were sent by phone to residents, and several arterial roads were cut off, Spain's Civil Guard said.

Emergency services said three villages near Toledo, which is 75 kilometers from the capital, were ordered evacuated because of the fire's progression. Residents in a fourth village were told to stay indoors with doors and windows closed until further notice.

The new blaze spread as hundreds of firefighters battled a separate major wildfire that has devastated 32,000 hectares about 100 kilometers north of Madrid. In 2025, more than 393,000 hectares burned in Spain, the worst toll in the country's recent history, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.

Is climate change making wildfires in Europe worse?

Scientists broadly agree that climate change caused by human-driven fossil fuel use is increasing the likelihood and severity of extreme weather events, including wildfires and heatwaves. Southern Europe has now faced repeated spells of severe heat this summer, with temperatures topping 40C in several areas.

The pattern mirrors last year's record season. In 2025, wildfires consumed more than 393,000 hectares in Spain alone, according to the European Forest Fire Information System, underscoring how conditions have intensified across the Mediterranean in successive years.