Uncontrolled wildfires in Spain and France
Uncontrolled wildfires ravaging forests in Spain and France have forced authorities to evacuate more than 200,000 people, according to announcements in both countries today. NASA also evacuated one of its facilities in Spain.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez stated that 167,000 people had been evacuated in the country due to fires near Bordeaux in southwestern France, while the Spanish Interior Ministry announced that the number of people evacuated due to fires near Madrid reached 45,000.
Nunez revealed that forest fires had consumed approximately 98,000 hectares in France since the beginning of the current year, describing the figure as “unprecedented.”
He added, “Several fires in the country remain out of control so far,” specifically pointing to the blazes in the Gironde and Landes regions in the southwest, which forced authorities to evacuate around 200,000 people.
The European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) announced that fires in France had consumed record areas since the start of 2026, totaling approximately 69,473 hectares, compared to the previous record (slightly over 66,300 hectares) set in 2022.
Unlike in 2022, the European information system also detected massive forest fires in February 2026, a month traditionally considered a period for controlled burns (clearing weeds and shrubs by fire) and prescribed fires conducted by firefighters to clear forests.
The current month is also the worst July on mainland France since data recording began in 2006.
Massive wildfires in Spain also forced NASA to evacuate one of its three global Deep Space Network communication facilities located in the country, affecting the agency’s ability to communicate with space probes.
The Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex in Robledo is located about 65 kilometers west of central Madrid, according to a NASA spokesperson who told the Associated Press in a statement. The US space agency said, “The fire passed through the Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex, and any potential damage will be assessed when it is safe to do so,” adding that “all personnel have been evacuated.”
The Madrid complex is part of the Deep Space Network, one of three sites that allow NASA to communicate with its spacecraft exploring distant parts of the galaxy.
The other two sites are located in Canberra, Australia, and Goldstone, California, and “the agency has transferred mission operations support to them.”
The statement continued, “The safety and well-being of our crews are our top priorities, and our hearts are with the families and neighbors who are also suffering the consequences of the wildfires in neighboring communities.”
