Fourth major heatwave expected to hit France as crews battle massive Bordeaux wildfire

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BORDEAUX, France, July 28 (Reuters) – France was bracing for its fourth major heatwave of the year on Tuesday, as soaring temperatures ​and tinder-dry conditions across the southwest piled pressure on crews ‌battling a giant wildfire in the Bordeaux region.

Temperatures in Bordeaux are forecast to reach 33 degrees Celsius (91 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day, around seven degrees above the average high ​between 1961 and 1990, according to the Reuters Climate Monitor.

“The situation we ​are dealing with today is the most severe we have ever ⁠recorded, the toughest since the Second World War,” President Emmanuel Macron, ​who flew to the area, said on Monday evening.

A forest fire rages in Saint-Jean-d’Illac, some 30 kilometers from Bordeaux, France, on July 26, 2026. AFP via Getty Images
Smoke from the wildfire on the west of Bordeaux is pictured from the Arcachon Bay in Gujan-Mestras, southwestern France, on July 28, 2026. AFP via Getty Images
People fill their water bottles and cool off by a water fountain during a heatwave at the Bois de Vincennes park in Paris on July 11, 2026. AFP via Getty Images

Fire crews had contained the ​blaze overnight, but the situation remained difficult, Nathalie Delattre, Senator for Gironde, which covers the city of Bordeaux, said.

“Everything will depend on how the firefighters on the ground get ​on,” she told BFM TV on Tuesday.

France is going through an unprecedented ​wildfire season. The area burned has already surpassed the previous record year of 2022.

The ‌Landes ⁠area, southwest of Bordeaux, is covered by pine forests, which become highly flammable when dry. The fire has burned down 42,000 hectares (roughly 103,784.26 acres) so far.

People gather at an exhibition center being used for people displaced by the wildfires, in Bordeaux, France, on July 26, 2026. AFP via Getty Images
Firefighters carry out mop-up operations, extinguishing remaining hot spots and smoldering patches, in a forest near Marcheprime, some 30 kilometers from Bordeaux, on July 27, 2026. AFP via Getty Images

Authorities have evacuated about 220,000 people, including holidaymakers and local residents.

In the area of Biscarrosse, ​a town about ​40 kilometers south, ⁠which was hit by another wildfire last week, the situation has improved and some 15,000 evacuated people were gradually ​allowed back home in the town and a campsite ​nearby, the ⁠local administration said on X.

“However, (the favorable) development does not mean the risk has been eliminated. Flare-ups remain possible, particularly due to weather conditions (wind, drought, etc.),” it ⁠said.

Temperatures ​were set to increase in the region ​from the afternoon and peak at 37 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, weather office Meteo France said.

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