JULY 31, 2026

Tens of thousands return home near Bordeaux as European wildfires and heatwave continue

Firefighters in southwestern France reported four active hotspots on Friday after fires burned through approximately 100,000 acres of forest, villages, and farmland over the past week. Authorities allowed 84,000 evacuees near Bordeaux to return home Thursday night, with 60,000 others having already returned Tuesday. The fires are part of a broader European heatwave that has prompted evacuations and wildfire responses across Greece, Germany, Turkey, and England.

Lt. Col. Eric Pitault, spokesman for firefighters in the Gironde region, said the situation had "stabilized" but that several zones remained difficult for responders to access. Sophie Brocas, prefect of the Gironde region, said authorities were hoping to have full control by the weekend, describing Thursday as "the first somewhat optimistic day."

Despite the return of evacuees, thousands of people remained in temporary shelters, including at the Bordeaux convention center. Among those sheltering was 90-year-old Marie Lalana, who told NPR she had fled her home so quickly that she left behind her teeth, glasses, and hearing aids. Authorities said there were no known civilian casualties among the public, though two firefighters lost their lives battling a fire near Bordeaux-Merignac Airport earlier in the month.

A wildfire in the southeastern town of Brignoles also forced hundreds to evacuate, including actor George Clooney, his wife Amal, and their children, according to the Associated Press. In Greece, thousands were evacuated from the island of Crete as fires burned on the south coast; two firefighters died there Wednesday, and a third died battling a separate blaze on the Greek mainland. Firefighters in Germany and Turkey also responded to forest fires, while in England, more than 100 firefighters tackled a blaze near the Sizewell B nuclear power station in Suffolk that grew to over 350 acres.