Thousands Flee Homes in Southwest France as Firefighters Resume Battle Against Intense Wildfires

The blaze has burned around 4,600 hectares near the Pyrenees foothills, according to local prefect Pierre Regnault de la Mothe via a post on X/Twitter.

A helicopter conducts firefighting operations as wildfire burns in Pouzols-Minervois near Narbonne, France, July 2, 2026.

(photo credit: REUTERS/Alexandre Dimou)

ByREUTERS

JULY 6, 2026 11:35

Updated: JULY 6, 2026 15:49

A wildfire raging out of control in southwestern France has forced the evacuation of 10,000 people from two dozen small towns and villages near the Spanish border, with officials warning that strong winds on Monday would further intensify the flames.

The European Union announced on Monday it would dispatch four water-bombing aircraft from Cyprus and Sweden to assist firefighters near the city of Perpignan.

"Europe stands with France," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X/Twitter.

The fire has burned around 4,600 hectares in the foothills of the French Pyrenees, local prefect Pierre Regnault de la Mothe said in a post on X/Twitter.

"This morning conditions are deteriorating again," France's Interior Minister Laurent Nunez warned on French TV station TF1. "Today the battle resumes."

Early summer heatwaves in France and across western Europe in May and June have dried out large areas of land, leaving them especially prone to wildfires this year.

The Trevillach blaze, which injured five people including a firefighter, is burning close to the third stage of the Tour de France. Local authorities have closed the leg to the public to give emergency services clear access to the area. Although the race will continue, the motorcade of team vehicles that follows will now be kept to a minimum.

Some 500 people evacuated due to wildfires in Spain

On the Spanish side of the border, the fire ravaged 2,200 hectares, 97 percent of them in the protected natural area of Les Gavarres, but Catalan authorities said late on Saturday that it was stable and would be completely extinguished by the end of the week.

Police have arrested an employee of a company contracted by Catalonia's regional government who is suspected of having sparked the wildfire by using an angle grinder at the side of a road.

South of Catalonia, in the eastern Castellon province, 500 people were evacuated after a wildfire entered the Sierra de Espadan national park, home to a significant cork oak forest.