More than 10,000 evacuated in southwestern France as wildfire spreads

Smoke and flames rise in Le Porge as a wildfire burns in a forest area in the Gironde department amid worsening drought conditions following a heatwave and water shortages across much of France.

A resident speaks with gendarmes in Le Porge as a wildfire burns in a forest area in the Gironde department amid worsening drought conditions following a heatwave and water shortages across much of France, July 23, 2026.A DFCI Conseiller technique stands on a road in Le Porge as a wildfire burns in a forest area in the Gironde department amid worsening drought conditions following a heatwave and water shortages across much of France.A wildfire burns in a forest area in the Gironde department amid worsening drought conditions following a heatwave and water shortages across much of France,A firefighting helicopter flies over a wildfire in a mountain area near Freissinieres and L’Argentiere-la-Bessee in the Hautes-Alpes as drought conditions worsen following a heatwave and water shortages across much of France.