Spanish authorities lifted wildfire evacuation restrictions on July 29 across areas of Toledo, Madrid, Ávila, and Castellón, allowing tens of thousands of residents to return home even as both Spain and France brace for a fourth heatwave of the summer (BBC).

In the Madrid region alone, 24,000 people were told they could return after being evacuated, and lockdowns on a further 20,000 were lifted (BBC). The Sierra Oeste wildfire had prompted the evacuation of more than 1,300 elderly and disabled residents, with the regional government monitoring 1,600 people in situations of dependency at home or in care points (Comunidad de Madrid). Aldea del Fresno was among the municipalities evacuated as of July 26 (Comunidad de Madrid).

Despite the lifting of restrictions, a wildfire continued to burn at Burgohondo, roughly 150km west of Madrid (BBC). Spain's national weather agency AEMET issued Special Adverse Weather Warning number 27/2026 on July 28, forecasting maximum temperatures of 40°C across the Peninsula, the Balearic Islands, and the Canary Islands, with the alert extending through July 29 (AEMET).

The heat arrives against an already punishing baseline. June 2026 was the second-warmest June on record in Spain, with temperatures 3.2°C above the monthly average, surpassed only by June 2025 (AEMET). Wildfires had burned more than 152,000 hectares across Spain as of July 21 (EFE). In Castellón, the Soneja fire was stabilized on July 6 after consuming 183 hectares, though evacuees could not yet return at that point (EFE).

Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska urged calm on the afternoon of July 28 and recommended face masks for evacuees returning home (EFE). The Madrid regional government reinforced its healthcare network in response to the fires and allocated 160 million euros for a Forest Plan covering 2026 through 2030 (Comunidad de Madrid).

In France, the picture is equally tense. Météo-France characterised the incoming system as the fourth very-high-heat episode of the summer and the 54th national heatwave recorded since 1947 (Météo-France). Sixteen departments were under orange heatwave alerts, including Landes further south (BBC). Officials in south-west France warned of dry winds and temperatures reaching 41°C (106°F).

The largest fires in the Gironde region of south-west France were described as "still stabilised" despite several flare-ups (BBC). A mega-fire near Bordeaux was "globally stable" but remained out of control as of July 27 (EFE). Blandine Sarrazin, mayor of Le Barp south-west of Bordeaux, warned the situation was "getting harder" after two fires broke out the day before (BBC).

A particularly sensitive dimension of the Gironde response is the fire service's deployment of special measures to protect sites linked to France's defence and aerospace industries. These include "Seveso" classified sites that manufacture hazardous materials for missiles and rockets (BBC). The Seveso designation, rooted in EU directive frameworks, applies to facilities handling dangerous substances at thresholds that trigger stringent accident-prevention obligations. The proximity of major wildfires to such installations adds an industrial-safety layer to what is already a public-health and environmental crisis.

Météo-France has also noted that the June 2026 heatwave in France reached an intensity never before observed (Météo-France).

The broader context here is one of compounding stress. With both countries now facing yet another episode of extreme heat before the summer is over, the compounding effect of successive heatwaves on vegetation moisture, firefighting resource availability, and emergency-response capacity is a central operational concern. The lifting of evacuation orders in Spain offers residents relief, but the approach of a fourth heatwave, combined with active fires still burning on both sides of the Pyrenees, means the risk calculus remains volatile.