Disasters & Incidents
Spain allows 8,500 wildfire evacuees to return near Madrid
Spain allowed around 8,500 people evacuated because of a massive wildfire to return to Valdemaqueda and Robledo de Chavela near Madrid late Wednesday, July 29, the interior ministry and the Spanish government's representative in the Madrid region said.
The ministry said the evacuation order for the two towns had been lifted immediately. Francisco Martin said the decision meant around 8,500 people could return home.
Just under 1,000 people remain evacuated from residential areas in San Martin de Valdeiglesias and Pelayos, Martin said. In those two towns, only some residential developments were evacuated, not the whole municipality.
Emergency services have been working since last week to put out the blaze in the Madrid region and another in neighbouring Avila province. Officials said one of the fires was the worst in Spain's recent history.
Earlier Wednesday, authorities allowed residents to return to all towns evacuated because of a wildfire in Avila province, west of Madrid.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said late Wednesday that, with caution, the wildfire was “evolving favourably”. But he said the situation remained “critical and highly complex” because of high temperatures, low humidity and strong winds, which he said were causing fires to spread faster than had traditionally been typical for such wildfires.
Update
Around 8,500 people will be able to return to Valdemaqueda and Robledo de Chavela, according to Francisco Martin.
Just under 1,000 people remain evacuated from residential areas in San Martin de Valdeiglesias and Pelayos.
Authorities earlier allowed residents to return to all towns evacuated because of a wildfire in Avila province.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the wildfire was evolving favourably but the situation remained critical and complex.
Source note: AFP news report published on 29 July 2026 at 19:49:39 UTC.
Update
Residents of Valdemaqueda and Robledo de Chavela were allowed to return home late Wednesday.
The interior ministry said they were the last two towns near Madrid still evacuated because of the wildfire.
The evacuation order for those towns was lifted immediately.
Source note: AFP news report published on 29 July 2026 at 18:45:18 UTC.
Update
Spain allowed wildfire evacuees from two more towns near Madrid to return home.
Source note: AFP news report published on 29 July 2026 at 18:38:24 UTC.
Update
Two firefighters died fighting fires in Crete and a third near the Peloponnese port of Gytheio.
The EU warned that fire-prone conditions would spread towards central Europe in the coming days.
The current version includes additional returnee and volunteer accounts from Spain and France.
Source note: AFP news report published on 29 July 2026 at 17:24:58 UTC.
Update
Some Spanish evacuees returned to untouched homes while others found destroyed property in Pelayos de la Presa.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the coming hours would be decisive in efforts to extinguish remaining flames.
Emergency crews were also tackling a blaze on the Greek island of Paros, three firefighters were killed in fires in Crete, and fires in southern Turkey forced hundreds of evacuations around tourist beaches.
Source note: AFP news report published on 29 July 2026 at 16:44:23 UTC.
Update
Spain lifted remaining evacuation orders in Avila province after lifting orders west of Madrid.
A Spanish government delegate said 24,000 evacuees had been able to return home and 20,000 people had been released from confinement in the Madrid region.
French authorities said 57,000 residents of three towns near Bordeaux who were evacuated on Friday and Saturday were to be allowed home.
Gironde and Landes were placed under an orange-level heat warning, with temperatures of 41C forecast.
Greek firefighters were battling a blaze on Paros, with aircraft and helicopters deployed.
Source note: AFP news report published on 29 July 2026 at 13:13:14 UTC.
Update
Regional prefect Sophie Brocas said the wildfire remained stabilised and was not advancing.
Brocas said officials counted 14 renewed blazes in areas the wildfire had already passed through.
Source note: AFP news report published on 28 July 2026 at 16:23:37 UTC.
Update
An official said France has allowed fire evacuees from three villages near Bordeaux to return home.
Source note: AFP news report published on 28 July 2026 at 16:04:26 UTC.
Update
An official said the giant wildfire in southwest France had brought 14 blazes back to life.
Source note: AFP news report published on 28 July 2026 at 16:01:26 UTC.
Update
The wildfire west of Bordeaux was described as France's largest since 1949.
Firefighters were trying to contain major fires before a fourth summer heatwave brought hotter conditions.
Spain's interior ministry said evacuation orders for 13 municipalities would end on Tuesday afternoon, without saying how many people were covered.
Source note: AFP news report published on 28 July 2026 at 14:26:13 UTC.
Update
France evacuated 4,000 more people from camping sites in Lacanau as a precaution.
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said the country was turning the tide in the fight against the fires.
French authorities said flare-ups overnight in the north of the Cap Ferret peninsula were under control and the burned area had not increased.
A mayor near the Spanish fire zone warned that the next few hours were crucial.
Source note: AFP news report published on 28 July 2026 at 13:15:47 UTC.
Update
French firefighters said they were on the offensive on the Cap Ferret peninsula after creating a 50-metre-wide, 25-kilometre-long firebreak with help from civilian volunteers.
The Gironde prefect’s office said overnight flare-ups in the north of the peninsula were under control and the burned area had not increased.
Spanish Guardia Civil officers were blocking some evacuated residents from returning near Aldea del Fresno because of smoke inhalation risk.
EU crisis management commissioner Hadja Lahbib warned that extreme conditions were also looming for Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, and that Portugal’s situation was expected to worsen.
Source note: AFP news report published on 28 July 2026 at 09:36:56 UTC.
Update
Firefighters said the major wildfire near Bordeaux had not expanded overnight after crews tackled flare-ups.
The Bordeaux-area fire has burned 42,000 hectares over six days, forced 220,000 people to flee and destroyed 240 houses.
French officials described the Gironde situation as highly unpredictable before hotter, drier weather.
Emmanuel Macron said the smaller Landes fire was contained but remained virulent; 15,000 people there were able to return home by Monday evening.
Spain has seen 77,000 hectares destroyed in current fires, while about 60,000 people have been evacuated west of Madrid.
Source note: AFP news report published on 28 July 2026 at 05:46:28 UTC.
Update
Spanish authorities planned to allow some evacuated people near Madrid to return, including to a campsite where 4,500 people had been evacuated.
Authorities in France's Gironde region banned holiday camps, including overnight Scout trips and camps for people with disabilities.
Portugal's civil protection services said several fires broke out in northern and central Portugal, with more than 1,000 personnel and around 20 aircraft involved.
Source note: AFP news report published on 27 July 2026 at 19:54:17 UTC.
Update
President Emmanuel Macron said a smaller fire in the Landes region had been contained, while warning it remained dangerous.
A larger wildfire near Bordeaux had burned 42,000 hectares over six days, forced 220,000 people to flee and destroyed 240 houses.
The EU said it was sending more water-bombing aircraft to France, in addition to aircraft already deployed to Spain.
Spain's weather agency forecast a heatwave from Wednesday until the end of the week, with temperatures expected to reach 42C in the northeast and 39C in the centre.
MeteoFrance forecast temperatures of up to 40C from Tuesday with dry wind.
Source note: AFP news report published on 27 July 2026 at 19:33:37 UTC.
Update
Spain’s AEMET weather agency officially declared a new heatwave beginning Tuesday and lasting until the end of the week.
The European Union said it would increase aerial assets deployed to Spain from nine to 11.
French President Emmanuel Macron was to visit southwest France to support firefighters and local officials.
French authorities in Gironde banned overnight holiday camps, including Scout trips and camps for people with disabilities.
Source note: AFP news report published on 27 July 2026 at 13:06:50 UTC.
Update
Spain's AEMET weather agency said fire risk would rise to very high or extreme levels across almost the entire country from Tuesday.
Temperatures in central and southern Spain were forecast to reach 40C.
The Madrid regional government said major wildfires west of Madrid slowed overnight but remained active.
French authorities said the major fire in the Gironde region was stable overnight.
French President Emmanuel Macron was to chair a crisis cabinet meeting on Monday.
Authorities in France's Gironde region banned holiday camps, including Scouts' overnight trips and camps for people with disabilities.
A firefighters' federation spokesman told AFP that the southwest France wildfire had created a pyrocumulonimbus, described as a phenomenon never before seen in the country.
Source note: AFP news report published on 27 July 2026 at 11:19:22 UTC.
Update
Madrid regional authorities said major fires west of Madrid slowed overnight but remained active.
Spanish authorities planned to allow some evacuees near Madrid to return, including to a campsite where 4,500 people had been evacuated.
French authorities said the major Gironde fire was stable overnight.
Gironde authorities banned overnight holiday camps, including Scouts' trips and camps for people with disabilities.
A French firefighters' federation spokesman said the Gironde blaze created a dangerous pyrocumulonimbus fire cloud described as never before seen in France.
Gironde prefect Sophie Brocas said 220,000 evacuees would not be able to return until the fire was under control.
Italy's coastguard said more than 400 people were evacuated by sea from the southern Adriatic coast on Sunday, with several hundred more expected to be rescued.
Spain's ecological transition minister said the Madrid-area wildfires included the largest forest fire in Spain's recent history and had affected 77,000 hectares in Madrid, Avila and Toledo.
Source note: AFP news report published on 27 July 2026 at 09:25:12 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The supplied material does not give a precise number for people still unable to return beyond just under 1,000.
The supplied material does not specify when all remaining residential evacuations may end.
Source
AFP news report published on .