A massive wildfire is threatening the French metropolis of Bordeaux. The flames are now just over 15 kilometres from the city limits, according to the city’s mayor.
“It is approximately 15 kilometres from the fire to the city itself,” Bordeaux Mayor Thomas Cazenave said around midday on Sunday.
He added that there are currently no plans to evacuate the city, but that emergency preparedness is in place should the situation change. Bordeaux is the country’s sixth-largest city, with approximately 1.2 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area.
France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez described the situation as “difficult”. (NTB–Reuters–AFP)
Le Figaro has spoken to residents who describe what they are experiencing as “heartbreaking”.
Wildfires have burned 115,000 hectares since the start of the season in France, according to Interior Minister Nuñez. Between 30 and 40 fires are being fought simultaneously. From the Bordeaux metropolitan area, 55,000 people have been evacuated.
“We must of course remain calm, but also realistic: We have a fire that is not under control and that is moving towards the metropolis (Bordeaux) (…) It is an unpredictable fire that is self-sustaining,” Nuñez said, according to France 24.
On social media, enormous fires can be seen advancing towards the city.
🔴 Terrible vidéo prise depuis un Canadair, les flammes dévorent tout à seulement 15 km de la métropole bordelaise.
➡️ 42 000 hectares brûlés & 220 000 évacués en Gironde.
📹 @MisterKraKra pic.twitter.com/9oBjr77rDB
— air plus news (@airplusnews) July 26, 2026
Around Bordeaux lie some of the world’s most famous wine-growing regions. Assets worth astronomical sums could be lost if the fire reaches the vineyards. In the worst-case scenario, this could become the greatest disaster for French wine production since the vine pest Phylloxera vastatrix arrived with imported cuttings from North America and destroyed millions of hectares of vineyards in the late nineteenth century.
The most important priority, however, is of course to avoid loss of human life. So far, the French authorities appear to be capable of evacuating those in the danger zone. Fires are burning both south and north of the city.
Este video de @valatini ilustra las ultimas 24 horas de los incendios cerca de Burdeos. Durante la noche el incendio hace un salto cuántico dirección sureste obligando a nueva oleada de evacuaciones. Ya van llegando a 300 000.
Nota: en esos pueblos ya había gente evacuada de la… https://t.co/k99rD1JiYY pic.twitter.com/LNxVOfJRB9
— daniel duquenal (@danielduquenal) July 26, 2026
Across the entire Gironde region, of which Bordeaux is the largest city, 42,000 hectares of land have burned, and more than 200,000 people have been evacuated. From campsites alone, 40,000 people have been evacuated from Gironde and the neighbouring Landes region south of Bordeaux.
High temperatures are also forecast in the coming days, which could further worsen the situation.