Overview
- Firefighters and cooler, more humid weather allowed authorities on Friday to declare the huge Gironde blaze contained within its perimeter and lift evacuation orders that let roughly 144,000 people return near Bordeaux.
- Spanish officials have downgraded the national emergency around Madrid and Ávila after crews held key perimeters and began letting tens of thousands of evacuees go home.
- Greece continues to battle fresh blazes and reported the confirmed deaths of three firefighters this week as hot spots and new ignitions persisted on islands such as Crete and Paros.
- Authorities say the season has burned vast areas—about 42,000 hectares near Bordeaux and more than 116,000 hectares in France this year—and national teams have been bolstered by EU and bilateral help, including 70 Ukrainian rescuers and extra aircraft.
- Rapid attribution studies and climate analyses show summer days with fire-prone conditions have more than doubled since 1981, and forecasters warn renewed heat and drought could trigger further outbreaks and public-health impacts.