Europe Burns: Over 580,000 Hectares Scorched in 2026
Belgium battles its largest wildfire in recent history, Greece brings deadly blaze near Athens under control, and anger grows in France over the official response to the firestorm.
Belgium battles its largest wildfire in recent history, Greece brings deadly blaze near Athens under control, and anger grows in France over the official response to the firestorm.
Europe is facing devastating wildfires this summer that have so far consumed more than 580,000 hectares, according to data reported by Le Figaro. The firestorm has hit Belgium, Greece, France, Spain, and Portugal, with authorities struggling to cope with the aftermath and growing public discontent.
In Belgium, rain began to fall on Monday, August 17, 2026, providing much-needed relief in the fight against the largest forest fire in the country's recent history. The fire has engulfed around 3,000 hectares of the High Fens park on the border with Germany, with 500 firefighters and soldiers involved in the response, according to Iraqi News.
Germany's Defense Ministry has announced it will send two military firefighting helicopters to Belgium. In the German town of Monschau, near the border, nearly 30 people were evacuated from two streets close to the border crossing.
Greece's fire service has announced that two fires on the island of Salamis near Athens, which claimed two lives and led to the evacuation of nearly 600 people by boat, have been largely extinguished. The fires broke out on Sunday near crowded beaches on the island west of Athens, a popular spot for day-trippers.
Although the civil protection agency issued evacuation orders, firefighters reported that the fires spread within just seven minutes due to strong winds, trapping an elderly couple near their home.
Around 200 people in the French village of Le Porge, where a massive forest fire last month destroyed 183 homes, booed Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu during his visit to the devastated Gironde region in the west of the country. French authorities announced that 250 evacuees from the fire still burning in the Landes region can return to their homes in the village of Luglon, as the blaze is now under control.
Le Figaro reports that the fire in Saumos is just 15 kilometers from the Bordeaux metropolitan area, raising the question of whether large cities can truly burn. The analysis draws on previous cases in Los Angeles and Marseille to understand what happens when a wildfire reaches the first settlements.
A Spanish soldier died on Sunday while helping to extinguish a large forest fire in Aragon, according to the head of that northeastern region. Authorities have deployed the largest firefighting arsenal in the region's history, with French reinforcements expected to help contain the fire that broke out on Monday and threatened a 1,000-year-old monastery. Hundreds of people have been evacuated.
In Portugal, hundreds of firefighters are battling a series of blazes. Near the village of Dine, on the border with Spain, five firefighters sustained minor injuries when their vehicle caught fire, according to media reports. Firefighters are also tackling several other fires near the Spanish border, including those in Boticas and Chaves, the civil protection agency ANEPC said.
Le Figaro also quotes Marc Vermeulen, director of Sdis 33, who has been warning the prefecture since the start of the Gironde fire about European standards that are "very restrictive" for fire trucks, referring to the AdBlue anti-pollution system. Vermeulen described the situation as "Ubuesque," referencing the absurdity of applying these standards to diesel vehicles used by emergency services.
