fire cloud ravaging France, Spain regions
On July 26, 2026, a forest fire rages in Saint-Jean-d’Illac, approximately 30 km from Bordeaux.
Romain Perrocheau | Afp | Getty Images
A massive wildfire engulfing parts of France’s Bordeaux region has destroyed hundreds and thousands of acres of land and caused one of the largest evacuations in the country.
The fire, which started last Wednesday in Gironde in southwestern France, burned approximately 104,000 acres in France and approximately 190,000 acres in the Avila and Toledo regions in western Madrid. In an incident described as “unprecedented” and “historic”, approximately 250,000 decares of land have burned in France since the beginning of the year.
Firefighter Capt. Nicolas Braz said the wildfire was described as a rare “pyrocumulonimbus,” an extremely rare and dangerous type of fire cloud that produces its own storms, winds and tornadoes, making it “erratic and unmanageable.” he told AFP. More than 300,000 people had to be evacuated.
This photo shows a forest burning during a wildfire near the town of Lege-Cap-Ferret in southwestern France on July 25, 2026.
Julien DeRosa | Afp | Getty Images
Firefighters stand by their vehicles as they battle a forest fire ravaging the forest north of the Arcachon Basin (Gironde) in Saint-Jean-d’Illac, about 30 kilometers from Bordeaux, on July 26, 2026.
Romain Perrocheau | Afp | Getty Images
This photo shows a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 MR aircraft (R) dropping fire retardant over a forest near Marcheprime, approximately 30 km from Bordeaux, on July 27, 2026.
Alain Jocard | Afp | Getty Images
This photo, taken on July 27, 2026, shows a queue of motorists trying to reach Cenicientos, one of the wildfire-ravaged villages 80 kilometers southwest of Madrid.
Oscar Del Pozo | Afp | Getty Images
People displaced by wildfire take shelter at the Parc des expositions de Bordeaux in Bordeaux, southwestern France, on July 27, 2026.
Sami Karaali | Afp | Getty Images
A French Civil Defense (Securite Civile) Canadair CL-415 drops water on a burned area during a forest fire outside Barjols in southeastern France on July 26, 2026.
Thibaud Moritz | Afp | Getty Images
Smoke in the sky seen from Villamanta, San Martín de Valdeiglesias. On July 26, 2026 in Madrid, Spain.
David Benito | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Evacuees arrive at the Parc des Expositions de Bordeaux-Lac, which has been transformed into one of the main reception centers for people displaced by severe fires affecting the Gironde region in Le Porge, France, on July 26, 2026.
Anatolia | Anatolia | Getty Images
