Firefighters in France and Spain are working against time to contain some of the worst wildfires in living memory as forecasters warn another heatwave will hit western Europe this week.

The blazes have destroyed vast areas of woodland, forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes and reduced entire neighbourhoods to ash. In France alone, more than 220 000 people have been evacuated, whilst Spain has seen 60 000 residents displaced.

The largest fire, burning near Bordeaux in southwestern France, has consumed 42 000 hectares over six days and destroyed 240 houses. The blaze has become so intense it created a rare pyrocumulonimbus cloud, a weather phenomenon that can generate its own wind and lightning.

Race against rising temperatures

Meteorologists have forecast the return of scorching conditions from Tuesday in France and Wednesday in Spain, leaving firefighters with a narrow window to bring the fires under control.

Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said the coming hours would be “absolutely decisive” for tackling fires burning west of Madrid.

French President Emmanuel Macron (49) visited a crisis centre in Bordeaux on Monday, warning residents of difficult weeks ahead. “The coming weeks will be tough and we have to hold out,” he said.

The prefect of Gironde described the situation as “highly unpredictable” late Monday, noting that Tuesday would bring “a significant rise in temperatures and a drop in humidity”.

Thousands begin returning home

A smaller fire in the Landes region, which forced more than 30 000 people to evacuate, is now “contained” according to Macron, though he cautioned it “remains virulent”. The blaze affected 500 hectares in 24 hours.

Around 15 000 people in Landes were allowed to return home from Monday evening, whilst firefighters maintained their watch.

On Monday, convoys of tractors fitted with land-clearing blades, water tanks and logging trucks joined fire engines heading to the Gironde region. Christopher Bonnefond (25), a farmer and wood transporter, said he wanted to help keep nature intact.

Devastation and displacement

At a sports hall outside Madrid, evacuees rested on camp beds, many comforting pets and coming to terms with their losses.

Maria Angeles Canete fought back tears as she surveyed the remains of her campsite near Navaluenga, west of the capital. “We lost everything,” she said. “We had this campsite, we had another one, and we’ve lost it all. We have nothing.”

The scale of destruction in the worst-affected Spanish areas is extensive. Pine forests stand blackened, smoke rises from charred earth, and burnt-out vehicles and houses litter the landscape.

David Sanchez (48) returned to his home in Cebreros after evacuating at the weekend to find his olive and pistachio grove consumed by flames. “Now it’s time to clean up and plant again,” he said, surrounded by smoke-filled air.

Spain has seen 77 000 hectares destroyed, an area nearly the size of New York City. Since the start of this year, 150 000 hectares have burned in Spain and 115 000 hectares in France.

European response stretched thin

The European Union announced on Monday it would send more water-bombing planes to France, adding to those already deployed in Spain.

EU commissioner Hadja Lahbib told AFP the fleet was increasingly stretched as fires threatened other regions. “Extreme conditions are looming for Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, in addition to France, the Iberian Peninsula… where the situation is expected to worsen, including in Portugal,” she said.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has described the fires as “the most painful expression of a climate emergency”.

Spain’s weather agency AEMET forecast a new heatwave from Wednesday until the end of the week, with temperatures reaching 42°C in the northeast and 39°C in central areas. MeteoFrance has predicted temperatures up to 40°C from Tuesday, accompanied by dry winds.

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