The 2026 Landes forest fires, in France, are a series of wildfires affecting several areas of the Landes de Gascogne forest massif, in the departments of Gironde and Landes, beginning on .
As of 17 August 2026, a total of of forest has been destroyed, have been injured, and more than 240 buildings have been destroyed by the flames.
Smoke from the Saumos fire reached the Bordeaux urban area and, farther north, was seen in Royan, in the department of Charente-Maritime, and as far as the departments of Vienne and Deux-Sèvres.
These fires are considered the most devastating in France in more than 50 years, although they have not surpassed the 1949 fires, which killed 82 people and burned .
They occurred in the context of a drought episode and heat waves in France and Europe, whose high intensity was made significantly more likely by climate change caused by human activities, particularly the burning of coal, oil and natural gas. Through these weather conditions, global warming has increased wildfire risk in the Landes and Gironde region where the fires broke out.
In Landes, the communes of Biscarrosse, Sanguinet and Parentis-en-Born were also affected by a fire. burned, resulting in the evacuation of from the communes of Biscarrosse, Parentis-en-Born and Sanguinet. Five firefighters were injured in this area.
In Gironde, the fires resulted in the evacuation of 220,000 people from the communes of Saumos, Arès, Marcheprime, Le Temple, Audenge, Andernos-les-Bains, Biganos, Cestas, Mios, Le Barp, Saint-Jean-d'Illac, Martignas-sur-Jalle, Saint-Médard-en-Jalles, Saint-Aubin-de-Médoc, Eysines (outside the ring road) and Mérignac (outside the ring road).
Residents and tourists were evacuated by land, either by buses chartered by the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region or by their own means, and also by sea from the Cap Ferret peninsula north to Lacanau and east to Lanton.
The fires spread in several phases and required the intervention of more than from Nouvelle-Aquitaine, other regions of France and other countries. More than of the National Gendarmerie, Mobile Gendarmerie, National Police and French Armed Forces were also mobilized to support population-protection operations and limit the spread of the fires eastward, particularly toward the Bordeaux metropolitan area. Police and gendarmerie forces were also deployed in evacuated communes to prevent looting.
The wildfires in Gironde caused a significant deterioration in air quality across a broad northwest–southeast band extending as far as the Mediterranean Sea, due to the large quantity of particulate matter carried by the smoke. Public debate has focused on climate change adaptation, efforts to contain climate change, greenhouse gas emissions-reduction pathways, the availability of aerial firefighting resources, as well as forest management involving monocultures of pine.
Background
Role of climate change
Although wildfires may be caused by human activity, whether accidental or deliberate, or by natural causes such as lightning, climate change increases wildfire risk in France, particularly through the increasing frequency and intensity of heat waves and droughts, which constitute two of the three parameters of the 30-30-30 rule,,.
The first half of 2026 was marked, particularly in Western Europe, by soil drought caused by a precipitation deficit and high temperatures. An attribution study by World Weather Attribution (WWA), published in , concluded that climate change had increased the severity of the drought through higher temperatures,,. The heat wave that occurred in June 2026, whose intensity was itself amplified by climate change,, contributed to the drying of soils and vegetation in France, thereby increasing the risk of wildfires.
A rapid attribution study published by WWA on concluded, by comparison with past observations, that the wildfire risk observed during the seven days when it was at its highest (6–) in the departments of Gironde and Landes would have been at least twice as low in the absence of climate change,.
Firefighting resources
The deputy general secretary of the National Union of Civil Aviation Flight Personnel explained that only seven of France's twelve Canadair aircraft were available to fight fires in France, because the other aircraft were undergoing maintenance, despite warnings at the beginning of the summer. Several media outlets have also pointed for several years to the fact that public services have been , with the National Forestry Office having seen its staffing cut over the previous twenty years, falling from in 1985 to in 2025.
Progression
On the afternoon of , a fire was reported in the commune of Saumos, beginning to ravage the monocultures of maritime pine that make up the local forest massif. According to initial findings, the fire was accidentally caused by brush-clearing work commissioned by Enedis, despite unfavourable conditions, although such work was authorized until 13:00. By the end of the day, had burned. The rapid spread of the fire was favoured by the drought affecting Europe.
Gironde fire
On 23 July 2026, the fire had burned and caused the evacuation of 20,000 people. With the wind blowing towards the southwest, the fire reached the town of Lège-Cap-Ferret, where houses were burned. As the fire reached some houses in Lège, authorities and firefighters feared that it could cross and cut the RD106, the only road providing access to and from the Cap Ferret peninsula, which at that time contained many residents and tourists. A preventive evacuation of the entire peninsula was therefore decided during the night of 23–24 July. More than 1,200 people were evacuated by sea to Arcachon, while the remainder were evacuated by land, by bus or by their own means. In total, 36,000 people were evacuated from the Cap Ferret peninsula.
On , the fire had burned , and 110,000 people were evacuated by land or sea, from the Cap Ferret peninsula northwards to Lacanau or eastwards to Lanton. The fire had covered , and 42 firefighters had been injured. Driven by westerly winds, the fire threatened the Bordeaux metropolitan area and exposed the population to toxic smoke. Military resources were deployed to protect the metropolitan area and its sensitive sites from the spread of the fire. At 18:00, a pyrocumulonimbus developed, capable of producing , posing a major risk to the metropolitan area. Preventive evacuations on an unprecedented scale were organized in the most exposed areas of communes outside the ring road: Saint-Médard-en-Jalles (33,000 people), Le Haillan (11,400), Saint-Jean-d'Illac (9,600), Martignas-sur-Jalle (8,000), Saint-Aubin-de-Médoc (7,800), as well as Mérignac (78,000) and Eysines (24,800), with only populations living outside the ring road concerned in the latter two communes. In total, 167,000 people were displaced. The fire destroyed 140 houses in Gironde. Smartphone notifications through the FR-Alert system were issued to warn the population and carry out evacuations ordered by the prefectures. President Emmanuel Macron activated the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism, allowing the forces engaged in firefighting to receive reinforcements consisting of two Croatian Canadair CL-415 aircraft, two Portuguese Air Tractor aircraft, and two Czech and Slovak Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.
During the night of 24–25 July in Gironde, the threat diminished because of increased humidity and winds shifting northward, particularly exposing the communes of Lacanau and Sainte-Hélène. At midday on 25 July 2026, the official assessment for the Saumos fire in Gironde was more than burned and 167,000 people evacuated. The fire was no longer convective but remained dangerous. In Le Porge, 183 houses burned. The department was placed under Météo-France's black wildfire warning level. Holidaymakers were advised to postpone their arrival in Gironde, while affected train tickets were postponed or refunded. An initial drop of fire retardant was carried out by an A400M of the French Air and Space Force. This was part of a major military reinforcement involving 1,500 personnel, supported by a Reaper drone, an Airbus A330 MRTT and an NH90 helicopter.
On the morning of 26 July, the wind pushed the fire southeastward. An area between Blagon and Croix d'Hins was ablaze. Sophie Brocas, prefect of Gironde and of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, ordered the preventive evacuation of an additional 55,000 people in Marcheprime, Le Barp, Biganos, Mios and Cestas, bringing the total number of evacuees to 220,000, making it the largest evacuation since the war. She stated that had burned, including in 24 hours.
During the preceding night, the A63 motorway was closed for nearly , from interchange 15 of the Bordeaux ring road to exit 23 at Marcheprime in the Bordeaux–Spain direction, and from exit 17 at Liposthey to interchange 15 of the ring road in the Spain–Bordeaux direction.
Rail services operated by TER Nouvelle-Aquitaine and TGV Sud from Bordeaux towards Dax and Hendaye, Arcachon, Mont-de-Marsan, and Pau and Tarbes were suspended that morning.
On the morning of 27 July, on the eve of another forecast heat wave, weather conditions were favourable in terms of humidity, temperature and wind speed, with light northerly winds. Security forces took advantage of the conditions to widen or create appropriate firebreaks. Municipalities also took initiatives to do so.
On the morning of 28 July, the fire was stable, but the forecast of westerly/northwesterly winds led authorities to evacuate 4,000 tourists from holiday accommodation in Lacanau. At the same time, 60,000 of the 222,000 evacuees were allowed to return home in Mérignac, Le Haillan and Eysines, while remaining prepared in case the threat worsened.
By , of firebreaks had been constructed, while the winds shifted eastward. The fire no longer advanced geographically, but firefighters continued to tackle several flare-ups.
On 30 July, 84,000 residents of nine communes were authorized to return home: Mios, Le Barp, Cestas, Saint-Jean-d'Illac, Martignas-sur-Jalle, Saint-Médard-en-Jalles, Saint-Aubin-de-Médoc, Salaunes and Sainte-Hélène, bringing the total to 144,000 people. In the evening, the fire was considered "stabilized".
On , residents of Biganos, Lanton, Andernos-les-Bains and Audenge were allowed to return home, followed the next day by residents of Arès, Marcheprime, Le Temple and Saumos.
On , the fire was "contained", meaning that it continued to burn but was no longer spreading to new areas.
On 2 August, Gironde prefect Sophie Brocas announced that residents of Lège-Cap-Ferret, the entire peninsula, and Le Porge were authorized to return to their homes.
On 3 August, reintegration was authorized for the last communes still under evacuation: from 14:00 for the town of Lège and Le Porge (except for two neighbourhoods), and from 19:00 for the peninsula (excluding campsites). The Le Ferron and Plein Soleil neighbourhoods of Le Porge were allowed to return on , after the fire revealed the presence of buried artillery shells in fields near residential areas,.
Landes fires
On , a fire started at around 15:45 in Landes on departmental road 652 at Biscarrosse, caused by a van catching fire accidentally and the flames spreading to the surrounding vegetation.
By , had burned in Biscarrosse and Parentis-en-Born, and 23,000 people had been evacuated. Five firefighters were injured,.
On the morning of , the fire had covered and 31,000 people had been evacuated from the two Landes communes. A preventive evacuation of Sanguinet was ordered. A total of 198 buildings, including houses and commercial and industrial premises, burned. The fire was not yet contained, but was better controlled, and the first residents were authorized to return.
The fire was declared contained on the evening of and brought under control on .
On , a new fire began near Luglon and Garein. After burning , it was declared contained on .