A wildfire that started on July 22 near Bordeaux in the Gironde region burned about 42,000 hectares of pine forest, an area larger than Detroit, before being brought under control on August 1, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez and Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The fire destroyed approximately 240 homes along the Atlantic coast [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
About 220,000 people were evacuated during the blaze, though most have since returned to their homes [1, 2, 4, 5]. The fire reportedly began after a spark from a brushwood-clearing machine ignited dry vegetation [1, 2, 3, 4].
Nunez stated, "The fire is under control, it's no longer progressing, but some areas remain active," underscoring that firefighting efforts continue despite the halt in the fire's spread [1]. Lecornu added, "Overall, the fire situation in our country is currently under control" as of August 1 [5]. Nearly 3,300 firefighters, including military, police, forestry workers, and volunteers, fought in one of France's largest modern civil defense operations [2].
In July 2026, wildfires burned a record total of approximately 119,000 hectares across France, the highest in 20 years according to Interior Ministry data [2, 6]. Some sources cite a slightly lower figure of 92,000 hectares, maintaining it is still the largest in two decades [1].
Meanwhile, a separate fire started on July 31 in the Var region in southeastern France, burning about 1,850 hectares. Officials reported it was stabilized but not yet fully controlled as of August 3 [1, 3, 4, 6]. Var Prefect Simon Babre described the fire's speed, saying, "The flames moved faster than a galloping horse," but confirmed by early August, "No new areas have been impacted" [1, 6].
Scientists link the 2026 fire season and extreme heatwaves in France to human-made climate change, which has caused dry vegetation and riverbed desiccation, exacerbating wildfire risk [1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 5].
Firefighters and authorities remain vigilant as they continue managing remaining active areas in Gironde and seek to fully control the Var wildfire in the coming days [1, 6].
