Members of the Emergency Military Unit (UME) use controlled burns to halt the spread of wildfires in the Madrid border region Photograph: Pablo Blázquez Domínguez/Getty Images
Members of the Emergency Military Unit (UME) use controlled burns to halt the spread of wildfires in the Madrid border region Photograph: Pablo Blázquez Domínguez/Getty Images
We are getting some heartbreaking pictures showing people returning to their homes near Madrid and finding their homes completely destroyed by the blaze.
A man skims through a book as he surveys the extensive damage in his burned-out home, which sits on a plot where he stores scrap metal, following a devastating wildfire in Pelayos de la Presa, 65 kilometers west of Madrid, Spain. Photograph: Óscar del Pozo/AFP/Getty Images
A man is pictured at his burnt-out home following a devastating wildfire in Pelayos de la Presa, 65 kilometers west of Madrid, Spain. Photograph: Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP/Getty Images
Burnt-out vehicles and twisted scrap metal amidst the rubble after a wildfire devastated the property in Pelayos de la Presa, 65 kilometers west of Madrid, Spain. Photograph: Pierre-Philippe Marcou/AFP/Getty Images
While the situation near Madrid is gradually improving, the Spanish media are reporting that a separate fire near The Vall d’Uixó in the Castellón province is still spreading uncontrollably.
Civil Guards are seen on guard at a closed road as smoke raises from the wild fire very close to the Santa Barbara chapel at La Vall d’Uixo in Castellón, Spain. Photograph: Manuel Bruque/EPA
RTVE reported that it remains out of control after burning nearly 10,000 hectares across 81 kilometers, forcing authorities to evacuate some 10,000 people.
Next 12 hours will be decisive to consolidate progress made in fight against wildfires, Spain's Sánchez says
Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez has been speaking in the last ten minutes on his visit to a command post in Navalcarnero.
Spain's prime minister Pedro Sánchez visits the Forward Command Post in Navalcarnero, Madrid, Spain. Photograph: Chema Moya/EPA
He said the current situation remains “favourable,” but the next 12 hours will be “decisive” in consolidating and securing the progress made by the firefighters as temperatures rise and create new risks.
Sánchez also asked those displaced by fires for trust and patience, as he said these decisions are not political, but taken on scientific advice as to when these returns are safe.
As is customary in the last few days, he also warned people against believing hoaxes and conspiracy theories spread on social media.
In Spain, thousands of people have been allowed back to their homes last night near Madrid, even as emergency services still continue to fight the blazes.
Moha Haddad put out some fire at his house after being allowed to return to it following the wildfires in Navas del Rey, in Madrid province, Spain. Photograph: Pablo Blázquez Domínguez/Getty Images
24,000 evacuees returned to the area, with another 20,000 released from stay at home orders.
More progress have been made overnight too, but local authorities urged caution as the new heatwave is set to hit the area.
“Efforts will focus on securing the perimeter, monitoring for new hotspots and cooling the areas to keep control of the fire,” a statement said.
Temperatures in high 30s, low 40s expected across France, Spain
Météo-France’s weather forecast shows temperatures up to 39C near Bordeaux – just where the largest wildfire continues to blaze – 38C in Lyon, 37C in Paris and Toulouse.
Over in Spain, it will be even hotter, with Aemet expecting 42C in Pamplona, 41C in Cordova and Saragossa, 40C in Ciudad-Real and Toledo, and 37C in Madrid.
Residents walk through water mist in a shopping street as temperatures reach record highs in Bordeaux, France. Photograph: Pierre Crom/Getty Images
Firefighters continue to battle blazes in France, Spain - in pictures
This aerial view taken from a Civil Security helicopter shows firefighting vehicles lined up along a road to suppress a wildfire near Ares, southwestern France. Photograph: Baz Ratner/AFP/Getty Images
A volunteer uses a rake trying to help stop a wildfire from advancing in San Martin de Valdeiglesias, west of Madrid, Spain. Photograph: Manu Fernández/AP
A firefighting vehicle works to extinguish a fire inside a military base during a wildfire, amid drought conditions following a heatwave and water shortages across much of France, in Souge, Gironde, France. Photograph: Yves Herman/Reuters
Firefighters continue battling a wildfire near the town of Mirabel-et-Blacons in southeastern France. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images
Morning opening: France and Spain brace for heatwave as they make progress battling wildfires
Jakub Krupa
France and Spain are braced for the fourth heatwave of the summer to hit just as they were making progress battling destructive wildfires, with temperatures once again expected to cross into high 30s and low 40s celsius later today.
Volunteers prepare a water truck to fill tanks mounted on firefighting vehicles, near Lège-Cap-Ferret, southwestern France. Photograph: Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images
Sophie Brocas, the prefect of Gironde and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, said overnight that the fire remained contained this morning, with several flare-ups quickly brought under control.
“We will win this war,” the communications director for the French Firefighters Federation, Éric Brocardi, told broadcaster BFMTV.
But the return of high temperatures puts authorities on high alert for new potential fires. Sixty-five French departments were put on a high fire risk warning.
Over in Spain, the government’s regional representatives in Madrid are warning of “extreme” fire danger in parts of the region. But, encouragingly, the main forest fire near the capital remained stable overnight, with no significant flare-ups.
I will bring you all the updates here.
It’s Wednesday, 29 July 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.