‘Like a War Zone’: Belgian Witness on Raging Bordeaux Fires
A Belgian tourist from Ghent has described apocalyptic conditions as wildfires tore through southwestern France, forcing more than 220,000 people to flee their homes and holiday destinations. Jozef Hessel, who was evacuated from the A63 motorway near Bordeaux, said the scene resembled a “war situation” as flames advanced to within 15 kilometers of the city center.
“I’ve never experienced war conditions,” Hessel told VRT NWS, “but if I had to imagine something, it would be like that.” He described long convoys of emergency services, gridlocked intersections, and local residents stepping in to direct traffic before a piercing alert on his phone ordered an immediate evacuation.
Europe’s Worst Fire Season in Years
The fires engulfing the Gironde department have burned 42,000 hectares and forced at least 220,000 evacuations in France alone, according to BFMTV. A further 70,000 people have been evacuated in Spain, where massive fires near Madrid and Avila have destroyed 25,000 hectares. July 2026 is now the worst July for wildfires on mainland France since records began in 2006, with 69,473 hectares burned — already exceeding the full-year record of 66,300 hectares set in 2022.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez warned that the situation remained extremely dangerous, stating that the fire had “regained extreme and unpredictable intensity, generating its own wind and progressing erratically toward the urban area of Bordeaux.”
Witness Accounts of Chaos and Fear
Hessel’s ordeal began when his GPS kept directing him toward closed highway exits. “Suddenly one exit after another closed; police vehicles were everywhere,” he recounted. “The GPS kept sending us to the next on-ramp, but that too was closed. So we started driving through small villages.”
His experience was shared by dozens of other Belgian tourists caught in the disaster. Dominiek, a tourist from Kortrijk evacuated from Andernos-les-Bains, told VRT NWS he had to leave behind personal belongings but considered himself lucky compared to local residents who had lost everything. Frederik and Marilyn, another Flemish family evacuated from Prayssas, described their children panicking as sudden winds brought smoke and ash to their terrace.
Luc Vanrenterghem and his family, from Poperinge, spent the night in a bullring arena after being evacuated from a campsite near Biscarrosse. “We’re lucky we could pack our stuff and leave,” he said. “It’s mostly bad for the local people who have lost everything.”
In Spain, Sophie, a Flemish tourist near Madrid, said authorities issued evacuation alerts too late, as ash particles were already falling.
Fires Spread Across Southern Europe
The crisis extends well beyond France. In Spain, at least one person has died — a 78-year-old man found in his car in Manises, Valencia, as reported by El País. Two firefighters had earlier died near Bordeaux. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the magnitude of the disaster was “difficult to comprehend.”
Satellite imagery from Spain’s Aemet weather service showed smoke plumes from the Bordeaux and Madrid fires converging in the atmosphere, while the Gironde fires generated pyrocumulonimbus clouds — effectively creating their own weather systems that accelerated the blaze’s spread.
Military and EU Response
France has deployed 1,500 military personnel to combat the fires and used an Airbus A400M military transport aircraft for the first time to drop fire retardant. The European Union activated its civil protection mechanism, with Portugal, Greece, and Italy sending 176 firefighters, 41 vehicles, and four Canadair water-bombers to Spain, as reported by NOS. Portugal also sent rescEU capacity to France.
The Tour de France final stage was shortened due to police being redeployed to fire zones. French prosecutors announced a crackdown on fire-related offenses, with penalties of up to one year’s imprisonment and fines of €15,000. Three men were arrested in Gironde — two for setting off fireworks and one for deliberately setting fire to shrubs, according to France Info.
Climate Context and Health Concerns
Experts link the unprecedented fire season to an intense, prolonged heatwave baking southern Europe with high temperatures, low humidity, and strong winds. Jan Baetens, a wildfire expert at Ghent University, noted that over 95% of European wildfires are human-caused. Environmental epidemiologist Tim Nawrot of Hasselt University warned of acute health effects from PM2.5 particles in wildfire smoke, with effects appearing within a day of exposure.
In Gironde, 1.5 million FFP2 face masks have been distributed as severe air quality deterioration was reported. The Bordeaux exhibition hall has been sheltering 7,000 evacuees.
What’s Next
Bordeaux Mayor Thomas Cazenave has insisted that an evacuation of the city center is not on the table, though authorities are prepared for all scenarios. However, with a new heatwave approaching Spain and the fires continuing to burn out of control in Gironde, Landes, and Var, the crisis is far from over. Firefighters warn that dry vegetation, wind gusts of up to 40 km/h, and the unpredictable behavior of pyrocumulonimbus clouds make the coming days critical.
For the thousands of Belgian tourists and local residents alike, the nightmare summer of 2026 serves as a stark reminder of the accelerating impact of climate change on Europe’s landscape.