CANADA VIBES NEWSROOM · EVENING EDITION
July 23, 2026 · 9:00 PM ET

Fueled by a heat wave, wildfires are ravaging France, Spain and Italy, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate this week.

In France’s southwestern Gironde department, more than 10,000 people were evacuated overnight due to a blaze that has ravaged more than 2,000 hectares near Saumos, spreading toward Le Porge and Lège-Cap-Ferret.

About 500 firefighters, backed by aerial reinforcements, were battling the blaze Thursday morning. Two firefighters died in France and another in Italy while working to contain the wildfires that have devastated Europe this week.

In Spain, a wildfire in Guadalajara province, north of Madrid, has already burned through roughly 32,000 hectares.

According to the European Forest Fire Information System, about 254,000 hectares have burned across the European Union since the start of 2026 — above the long-term average, though below the total recorded over the same period in 2025.

What to watch

The progress of the fires in Gironde and Guadalajara, temperature forecasts for southern Europe in the coming days, and the final human and material toll of this heat wave.

Sources

• Euronews, “Wildfires rage across parts of France, Spain and Italy”
• Associated Press (via Axios), “Europe broils in heat wave that fuels fires in France, Spain”
• CBS News, “Fires scorch France and Spain as temperature-related deaths soar in European heat wave”
• Global News, coverage of wildfires in France, Spain and Greece