Wildfires Sweep Through Europe During Record Heat Wave

A large wildfire broke out in the famous Fontainebleau forest south of Paris, France, on Monday, forcing people to leave their homes and slowing train and highway traffic. The forest sits about 42 miles from the French capital and is visited by millions of people each year. The fire is one of several burning across western Europe during a dangerous heat wave. Hot, dry, and windy conditions have made it very hard for firefighters to stop the blazes from spreading.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the government was using every resource available to fight what he called a fire of "exceptional scale." Two water-dropping planes and hundreds of firefighters were sent to battle the blaze. A second fire broke out in another section of the same forest while crews were still fighting the first one. Officials said they were looking into whether the fire was started on purpose, meaning arson could be the cause.

The Fontainebleau forest is well known in France and around the world. It is home to the Fontainebleau Chateau, a grand palace that was a favorite of the French emperor Napoleon. Changing winds made the firefighters' job much harder, slowing their progress in containing the blaze. Trains running to and from the busy Gare de Lyon station in Paris were delayed Sunday night but started returning to normal by Monday morning. A section of a major highway leading out of Paris was also closed because of fire danger.

In Spain, a deadly wildfire near the town of Los Gallardos killed 13 people, including a 93-year-old British citizen who died in a hospital on Sunday from injuries suffered in the fire. Ten more people were still missing as of Monday. The fire burned through about 27 square miles of forest and farmland — an area larger than the entire island of Manhattan. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez planned to visit the area on Monday to see the damage firsthand.

Spain and much of Europe have been baking under extreme heat this summer. High temperatures, strong winds, and very little rain have created perfect conditions for wildfires to grow quickly and spread out of control. Scientists say Europe is warming faster than any other continent — about twice as fast as the rest of the world since the 1980s. This warming trend is making dangerous heat waves and wildfires more common every year.

Wildfires also broke out in the United Kingdom during the same heat wave. In northern Wales, several dozen families had to leave their homes after a fire spread across a mountainside. Wildfires burned in multiple locations across England as well, driven by hot, sunny, and dry weather. The UK's Met Office reported that 2026 has already broken a record, with temperatures reaching 95 degrees Fahrenheit or higher on six separate days — more than any year since records began. Weather experts said much of England faces a "very high" or even "exceptional" risk of wildfires right now.