Wildfire rages near Paris as heatwave scorches Europe

NOISY-SUR-ECOLE, France — A wildfire swept through a historic forest near Paris on Monday, forcing highway closures and the deployment of water-bombing aircraft, while Spain’s death toll from one of its deadliest wildfires rose to 13 as much of western Europe endured a series of heatwaves.

The region is experiencing its third heatwave of the summer, with dry vegetation and extreme temperatures fueling wildfires across the Iberian Peninsula and France. Scientists have warned that climate change is making wildfires more frequent, intense and difficult to control.

France deployed hundreds of firefighters to battle a fast-moving blaze that erupted along a motorway near Fontainebleau, home to one of the country’s most famous royal palaces.

In Spain, the death toll from last week’s devastating wildfire in the southern province of Almeria climbed to 13 after a 93-year-old British woman died from burn injuries on Sunday. Ten people remained missing as of Monday, according to authorities. During a visit to Almeria, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called for stronger fire prevention measures across the country.

The effects of the extreme heat could become even more severe. Scientists monitoring excess deaths reported thousands more fatalities than normal during a heatwave that affected Europe and Britain at the end of June.

Blaze in France Under Investigation

Located about 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) from Paris, the Fontainebleau wildfire forced the closure of the A6 highway, which connects Paris with Lyon and southern France. It also marked the first time that aircraft were deployed in the Greater Paris area to help contain a wildfire of this scale.

Smaller fires in the region also disrupted high-speed train services.

For the first time, Canadair water-bombing aircraft flew over the Seine River to refill their tanks while battling the blaze. Around 800 residents were evacuated from their homes.

Although the fire was largely contained by Monday afternoon, authorities said strong wind gusts continued to make firefighting efforts challenging.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the circumstances surrounding the fire were suspicious, noting that investigators found around 10 separate points where the blaze started within a 1,000-meter radius.

“This suggests it may have been started deliberately,” Nunez said.

Later on Monday evening, Nunez confirmed that two people suspected of being linked to the Fontainebleau fire had been arrested.

French authorities said an estimated 32,000 hectares of land — roughly the size of Orlando, Florida — have burned across the country this year, exceeding the total area affected in all of 2025.

Around 26 million people in France, including the greater Paris region, were placed under a red heatwave warning on Monday. Forecasters said the extreme heat was expected to continue through the middle of the week.

Neighboring Italy is also preparing for another heatwave expected to last at least a week, bringing high humidity and unusually warm nights. Temperatures in inland areas of Sardinia could reach 42–43 degrees Celsius (108–109 Fahrenheit) on Tuesday.

Heatwave Disrupts Daily Life

The latest period of extreme heat follows record-breaking temperatures in late May and late June, which set new daily heat records across parts of Europe.

The prolonged heat has damaged crops, affected electricity production from nuclear plants and increased freight transport costs along Germany’s Rhine River, where lower water levels have prevented cargo ships from operating at full capacity.

In Italy, farmers in the Emilia-Romagna region have been forced to increase resources to manage livestock and maintain production of dairy products such as Parmesan cheese.

Rising Deaths Linked to Extreme Heat

European countries recorded around 10,650 excess deaths during the record-breaking heatwave that affected western Europe in late June, official data showed.

A separate scientific study published on Monday estimated that 2,700 people died from heat-related causes in England and Wales alone during the May and June heatwaves.

Researchers from Imperial College London, the UK Met Office and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine found that 42% of those deaths were linked to additional heat caused by global warming.

The World Health Organization warned last week that Europe could face “more deadly weeks ahead” as new heatwaves develop over the Atlantic.

“It is difficult to explain this high excess mortality by anything but the extreme heat,” said Lasse Vestergaard, chief physician at Denmark’s Statens Serum Institut, which hosts Europe’s EuroMOMO mortality monitoring system.

EuroMOMO said more than 9,000 of the excess deaths recorded across Europe involved people aged 65 and older. -Reporting by Benoit Tessier, Sudip-Kar-Gupta and Dominique Vidalon in Paris, Giselda Vagnoni in Rome, Kate Abnett in Brussels, Sergio Leon and Aislinn Laing in Madrid; Writing by Richard Lough and Michele Kambas; editing by Andrei Khalip and Daniel Wallis/Reuters