🔴 Live: French wildfires flare up again as authorities evacuate 4,000 more from tourist sites

Wildfires in southwestern France flared up again on Tuesday ahead of a fourth heatwave of the summer, due to bring scorching temperatures to the region once more. The news came as French authorities ordered nearly 4,000 more people to evacuate tourist sites on the Atlantic coast on Tuesday as the resurgent heat threatened firefighters’ fragile hold on a vast wildfire west of Bordeaux. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates. 'Orange' heatwave alert issued for 16 departments for Wednesday Sixteen departments, including Gironde and Landes—which are currently battling wildfires—will be placed on an orange heatwave alert on Wednesday, Météo-France announced. There will be “a sharp spike in temperatures over the Gironde and Landes in a particularly challenging situation requiring extra vigilance,” Météo-France stated in its 4 p.m. bulletin. Some 14 other departments in the central-eastern part of the country, from Puy-de-Dôme to Savoie, will also be under an orange alert, while 63 others will be under a yellow alert. Only 17 departments will remain under a green alert. The Gironde prefecture on Monday afternoon announced that “several fires have reignited within areas already burned by fires, particularly in Lège/Grand Crohot and Marcheprime,” which are located at the northwestern and southeastern edges of the massive wildfire. Video footage shows wildfires flaring up again in southwestern France Businesses impacted by fires call for emergency aid Several organisations representing small businesses, self-employed workers, and tourism professionals have called for emergency aid from the government and better insurance coverage to support businesses paralyzed by the fires in Gironde. The union representing self-employed workers (SDI) and the Union of Hotel Trades and Industries (Umih) are calling on insurance companies to compensate for the “business interruption losses” suffered by professionals in the affected areas. Insurance coverage for disruption to business operations without direct property damage is rare for small businesses, which generally are not eligible for compensation unless their premises have sustained damage directly caused by the fires. According to the local Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), approximately 14,500 businesses in Gironde have been brought to a standstill, out of some 178,000 businesses in the region, according to INSEE. The French Ministry of Finance estimates that approximately 130,000 employees are unable to work as a result of the fires. Wildfires flare up again in the Lège-Cap Ferret region Wildfires have flared up again in the southwestern part of France, including in the Lège-Cap Ferret region, the local city hall announced at midday. A firefighter works to extinguish flames during a forest fire outside Lege Cap Ferret, on July 28, 2026. Photo by Ed Jones/AFP Spain ends evacuation orders for 13 municipalities in fire-hit regions Spain has ended evacuation orders for 13 municipalities in two areas hit by wildfires, starting from 5pm (1500 GMT) on Tuesday, the interior ministry said. It was not clear how many residents that included or whether they would return home immmediately. But the annoucement was another sign of progress in Spain's battle with wildfires that have forced tens of thousands to flee their homes. 'Now it is lives first, then homes, and after, the forest', Spanish firefighter says Spanish firefighter Javier Garcia has never faced anything like the record blaze raging near Madrid in his two decades protecting woodlands and rural communities. “This doesn’t have a precedent,” García told The Associated Press by phone before another long day ahead. The out-of-control fire has consumed 500 square kilometres (193 square miles) – an area five times the size of Barcelona – and forced 25,000 people to flee villages in the smouldering hills of Avila west of Madrid, the capital. The ferocity of Spain’s largest recorded wildfire is forcing firefighters to fundamentally change their tactics, prioritising evacuations and property protection due to the danger posed by fast-moving walls of flames and blazes too powerful to attack directly. “The evolution is alarming,” García said. Before, his brigade would tackle fires in the wilderness. Now they are a last line of defence, focused on saving lives. No deaths from these fires have been reported, while 79,000 people have fled their homes from the Avila fire, another fire nearby in the Madrid region and one in eastern Castellon. “That gives us more work and more stress,” García said. “Now it is lives first, then homes, and after, the forest." Firefighters in race against time to put out spotfires as winds, temperatures set to increase FRANCE 24’s Carys Garland met with firefighters in the Gironde region where the worst of the fires have wrought destruction in the south west of France. Firefighters are in a race against time, working round the clock to put out numerous spotfires, many that have reignited, ahead of more heatwave conditions forecast for Wednesday and Thursday. With the wind also predicted to pick up this afternoon, it could further complicate conditions. However, morale remains strong. At a fire station in a nearby village most of the firefighters are volunteers. “Around half have lost their own homes in the fires but they continue to work because of the gratitude they feel they’re receiving from the public, who bring them food and whose children also bring them drawings,” Garland reports. Fire evacuees start returning home in France's scorched southwest Authorities say that the fires in the Gironde have been stabilised but is not entirely out yet. The French interior minister says some 40 thousand hectares went up in smoke. Meanwhile, some of those evacuated have been allowed to return home, while others are still waiting. Europe's largest aerial emergency services firm Avincis is warning Europe is not ready for longer and more extreme wildfire seasons, with the company's chief executive telling Reuters that its firefighting aircraft are now needed almost year-round. CEO John Boag said longer European wildfire seasons and bureaucratic obstacles have exacerbated regional shortages of both aircraft and the experienced pilots needed to fly them. "Globally, fire seasons are getting longer, aircraft are not moving between areas and pilots are becoming harder and harder to get," Boag said in an interview. As it braces for a new heatwave, Spain races to contain wildfires Fires continue to spread through Spain with one blaze to the west of Madrid now the largest to have swept through the country. Over 50,000 hectares have burnt near the city of Avila, and firefighters are attempting to bring the fires under control ahead of a rise in temperatures. How Bordeaux locals are volunteering to help firefighters battle monster blazes The huge fire raging in France's southwestern region of Gironde did not progress overnight on July 28, local authorities said. The task might become more complicated for firefighters, however, as the region is set to experience extreme temperatures due to a new heatwave. FRANCE 24's Carys Garland is on the ground and tells us about what's happening since the fire first broke out, and how locals are showing up to help. French authorities order evacuation of 4,000 people from tourist sites on Atlantic coast amid worsening wildfires French authorities ordered the evacuation Tuesday of nearly 4,000 people from campsites, tourist residences, holiday villages and leisure parks around Lacanau on France’s Atlantic coast as worsening weather threatened to intensify wildfire conditions. Gironde’s regional authority said the evacuations covered Lacanau Ocean and both shores of Lacanau lake. People were told to take personal belongings, follow emergency instructions and stay away until authorities permit a return. A volunteer gives indication to holidaymakers from Lege-Cap-Ferret upon their arrival in Arcachon by boat during an evacuation operation of the entire Cap-Ferret peninsula, in southwestern France. Photo by Romain Perrocheau/AFP Massive fire near Bordeaux 'stable' after a calm night, prefecture says The megafire that has burned 42,000 hectares in Gironde since July 22 is "remains stabilised" this morning after a "calm" night, according to the department's prefecture. "Several flare-ups were dealt with last night but are under control (north of Porge, north of Cap-Ferret in the dune area) thanks to the work of the firefighters. The burned area is unchanged," according to the same source. During the day, Météo-France forecasts a rise in temperatures up to 33 to 35°C inland, accompanied by a southeast wind, with ocean breezes from the west on the coast, which could reignite the blaze. 'Difficult hours' ahead for firefighters in Spain Spanish authorities hope to bring the fires raging near Madrid under control by Tuesday evening, ahead of a new heat wave expected to begin on Wednesday that will bring "difficult hours," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned. “There are still difficult hours ahead” as “temperatures rise”, Sanchez warned during a visit to the emergency coordination center in the Valencia region. The fire in the western Sierra de Madrid was spreading toward the massive blaze in Ávila, in the neighbouring region of Castile and León, the "largest" wildfire in Spain's recent history, according to the government. Together, these two fires have ravaged approximately 75,000 hectares in just a few days – seven times the area of Paris. The fire raging at the same time in Gironde has burned more than 42,000 hectares. Welcome to the France 24 liveblog covering wildfires in Europe. Catch up on yesterday's developments here.