Wildfires in Europe: Already twice as many fires as the average

The affected area has also grown dramatically. By the cutoff date of 15 July of this year, authorities recorded around 167,000 hectares of burned area, which according to the European Commission is roughly four times the area of Vienna. At the same time point last year, it was around 235,000 hectares – an indication that a single major fire can leave enormous traces in the statistics.

One of the most consequential fires of this summer is raging south of Paris. According to French authorities, the fire broke out on Sunday in the recreational area of Fontainebleau, about 60 kilometres south of Paris. The forest area is considered the "green lung" of the capital region. At times, more than 2,000 hectares were affected by the blaze. More than 1,000 people were brought to safety.

The firefighting operations were particularly difficult due to ongoing drought and recurring wind gusts. The French weather agency Météo-France stated, "außerdem wehe in der Region derzeit eine trockene Brise und es habe seit mehr als einem Monat überhaupt nicht mehr und seit über zwei Monaten nicht nennenswert geregnet" (quote from Charlotte Couture, expert at Météo-France). Two large fire fronts developed at the blaze, which repeatedly flared up due to the wind.

Fontainebleau: Fire near the "green lung" of Paris

On Wednesday, according to authorities, around 800 firefighters and three firefighting aircraft remained in operation to prevent the fire from flaring up again. The French authorities said the blaze was contained but not yet extinguished. France had already experienced three heat waves this year before the fire, according to authorities, which had severely dried out vegetation and soils.

The investigations into the cause of the fire led in the meantime to six arrests, four of whom remain in pre-trial detention. According to police, a roughly 19-year-old man confessed to having "mit einem Feuerzeug und Benzin Reisig angezündet zu haben" (quote from the police statement). Another suspect, also around 19 years old and a member of the volunteer fire brigade, stated that he had also started the fire with petrol and a lighter. A third suspect said he had accidentally triggered the fire by a discarded cigarette.

A few weeks earlier, another major fire in southwestern Europe had attracted considerable attention. In the French Pyrenees, a fire near Perpignan destroyed around 4,900 hectares of land and led to the evacuation of around 12,000 people. Some 20 municipalities were affected.

Investigations: Confessions and arrests

In Spain, emergency services were meanwhile fighting on several fronts. On 3 July, a fire broke out in the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia near the municipality of La Bisbal d'Empordà on the Costa Brava, destroying around 2,200 hectares of vegetation by 4 July. 400 firefighters and ten firefighting aircraft were deployed there before the flames could be brought at least partially under control.

By far the worst toll of this summer, however, was taken by a forest fire in Andalusia, in which at least 13 people died, according to Spanish authorities. Twelve of the 13 victims came from abroad. The Spanish authorities released the identities of all the deceased on Tuesday evening: one victim came from the USA, three from Belgium, seven from Great Britain, and one from Spain. The 13th victim is a 93-year-old British woman who died of her injuries in hospital on Sunday.

Andalusia: 13 dead after fire in southern Spain

In the fire area, twelve bodies burned beyond recognition were found. According to authorities, several foreign nationals are among the victims who had ignored instructions to stay in their homes and had attempted to flee the flames. The authorities cited a severed power cable as the cause of the Andalusian fire.

In view of the accumulation of severe fires, the European Commission is strengthening its civil protection structure. Under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, 777 firefighters are to be stationed in high-risk areas, supplemented by 22 firefighting aircraft and five helicopters from an EU fleet in addition to national resources. The Commission is responding to a season that exceeds the scale of previous years.

According to the European Commission, 2025 was the worst wildfire season since records began, with a total area of more than one billion burned hectares across Europe. In response, the Commission had developed a strategy for prevention, response, and reconstruction, which provides, among other things, for creating more resilient landscapes and raising risk awareness among the population.

EU responds: more personnel and firefighting aircraft

Dr. Mortimer Müller from the Institute of Silviculture at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU) assessed the factors favouring this year's fires in an interview with Deutschlandfunk: "Das Worst-Case-Szenario sei eine Kombination aus langer Trockenheit, überdurchschnittlichen Temperaturen und sehr geringer Luftfeuchtigkeit" (quote from Dr. Mortimer Müller). Added to this is strong wind, which makes fires particularly intense and dangerous.

Record year 2025 and cause analysis

Deutschlandfunk broadcast this news on 15.07.2026. Against the backdrop of an ongoing drought across large parts of western and southern Europe, authorities expect the number of fires and the affected area to continue rising as long as there is no widespread rainfall. The coming weeks are considered crucial in determining whether the season reaches or exceeds the extent of the previous year.