Devastating wildfires continue to rage in France and Spain, and the battle is only intensified by a phenomenon rarely seen in Europe before: pyrocumulonimbus clouds.
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Pyrocumulonimbus clouds are a thunderstorm cloud created by the intense heat of wildfires. These clouds can hasten the spread of wildfires by carrying embers in the air and striking vulnerable areas with dry lightning. In some cases, pyrocumulonimbus clouds have even created “fire tornadoes,” according to the Royal Meteorological Society.
Referred to by NASA as the “fire-breathing dragon of clouds,” this phenomenon adds a new threat to the already devastating wildfire epidemic in Europe.
French President Emmanuel Macron described the clouds as “real fire clouds capable of carrying the fire much farther” and said the phenomenon “makes us vulnerable to flare-ups of this fire.”
More than 300,000 people have been displaced in one of Europe’s biggest evacuations since World War II, and as rare “fire clouds” darken the skies, the end of Europe’s wildfire epidemic has no clear end in sight.
France faces wildfire conditions it has ‘never experienced before’
The pyrocumulonimbus clouds in France are the first ever to be recorded in the country.
Macron said “unprecedented” resources have been deployed to fight conditions the country has “never experienced before.”
Macron said work is “continuing to stop” the advance of a massive fire in Gironde. Authorities said the fire is stabilized but not contained and remains capable of “breaking loose” as harsh weather continues, as reported by The Associated Press.
Macron said the situation in the Landes region, another hot spot, has been “contained” but conditions remain “very difficult.”
The Landes and Gascogne forest is “extremely difficult to control” due to pine trees that create “highly swirling fire behavior” when the wind picks up, Macron noted.
Macron visited a coordination center for the firefighting effort on Monday and praised the firefighters’ efforts but said the battle is far from over.
“The weeks ahead will be hard,” Macron said, according to The Associated Press. “We must hold firm.”
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Spain faces ‘difficult hours ahead’ as fires continue to grow
Local weather services in Ávila, Spain, shared images of a pyrocumulonimbus cloud Tuesday, according to AP. The fire in Ávila, a city west of Madrid, has now spread across 500 square kilometers (123,553 acres), making it the largest on record in Spain, according to AP. The fire is five times the size of Barcelona.
The Spanish government has declared a national emergency in response to the “severity and simultaneity of large wildfires” across the country, according to a press release by the EU.
Across the country, authorities have evacuated 79,000 people. Another 30,000 are confined to their homes. Spanish authorities have formed facilities to assist evacuated residents.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Saturday that forecasts “indicate that we are facing some difficult hours ahead.”
“While temperatures have indeed dropped, we do not know exactly how the winds will behave — their intensity — or whether dry thunderstorms will occur as a result of these fires,” Sánchez continued.
France and Spain enlist help from the EU to combat wildfire spread
Just over halfway through 2026, France has already doubled the total acres burned in 2025, with more fires and acres burned than at any point in the last two decades of the country’s history, according to data published by the European Forest Fire Information System.
The European Union has deployed planes and firefighters under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to assist both countries in their efforts.
France is facing exceptional wildfires : over 116,000 ha burned and up to 30–40 simultaneous fires across Gironde, Var and Landes.
On 24 July, France activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, allowing European partners to rapidly reinforce firefighting operations. 🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/3VvrYyiMPJ
— France Diplomacy 🇫🇷🇪🇺 (@francediplo_EN) July 27, 2026
“Right now, hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes, while firefighters battle walls of flame in dramatic conditions to save lives and communities,” said EU Commissioner for Preparedness, Crisis Management and Equality Hadja Lahbib in a statement. “No country should ever have to face a disaster of this scale alone.”
The U.S. Embassy & Consulates in France and Spain have warned those in affected areas to monitor official media sources, stay indoors when possible and prepare for evacuation.
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