From March to August 2022, parts of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa were affected by wildfires, with Mediterranean countries affected the most. 2022 was ranked as the second worst year with 900,000 hectares burned, after 2017 with 1.3 million hectares. About 365,000 hectares of protected Natura 2000 sites were damaged (the highest number in 10 years at the time) specifically in Romania, Spain, Portugal, and France.
By country
Albania
In Krasta and Krujë, more than 50 hectares (120 acres) of forest were destroyed by wildfires. There were also large fires reported in Lezhë County.
Algeria
Wildfires which broke out in August have killed at least 38 people, 24 in the city of El Taref, and injured at least 200 others. They caused 350 people to be evacuated, according to Minister of Interior Kamel Beldjoud.
Croatia
Three large wildfires in the Zadar and Šibenik area destroyed around 20 homes in the village of Raslina by Lake Prokljan. The fire was extinguished by 18 July.
Cyprus
On 23 June, a wildfire destroyed at least 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) of forest on the foothills of the Kyrenia Mountains.
Czech Republic
A forest fire occurred in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park on 24 July 2022. It has been burning during large heatwaves, in the difficult-to-access terrain of the Malinový důl gorge in the national park area near Hřensko. Firefighters have been working since Sunday morning, they also evacuated dozens of tourists, 60 people from the camp in Dolský mlýn and residents of the village of Mezná. Firefighters and helicopters from Poland, Slovakia, Sweden and Germany also responded to the fire.
On 26 July, the smell of smoke from a forest fire was noticed as far away as Vysočina, Prague, Ústí nad Orlicí District, Svitavy District and Dresden. As of 26 July, the fire affected 1,060 hectares (2,600 acres) of forest.
France
July Gironde Fires
In July, estimated total of more than 20,800 ha (51,000 acres) were burnt by the wildfires in Gironde, causing a total of 36,750 people to be evacuated.
The fire at La Teste-de-Buch started at around 15:00 on 12 July. The mayor of La Teste-de-Buch, Patrick Davet, said that the cause of the fire may have been a vehicle that could have had electrical problems and ignited a fire on the side of a road near the Dune of Pilat.
In the evening, authorities evacuated five hamlets and the village of Guillos near Landiras as a precautionary measure. Five hundred people were evacuated and no casualties were reported from this fire. The D115 and D125 roads were closed to traffic.
On 13 July, in the area close to the fire, an evacuation of five campsites began, with around 6,000 holidaymakers fleeing as a cautionary measure. They were sent to the exhibition centre and the Leclerc shopping centre in La Teste-de-Buch. The D218 road was cut off by the fire between Pilat and the beach at Biscarosse. No injuries were reported. At the La Teste-de-Buch fire, 445 hectares (1,100 acres) in the district of Arcachon had been burnt since 12 July. By midday, the fire in this area had increased to 700 hectares (1,700 acres).
At the Landiras fire, 800 hectares (2,000 acres) had been burnt since 12 July and no injuries were reported. The prefecture activated two operational command posts manned by the SDIS of the Gironde to coordinate operations. Nearly six hundred firefighters were engaged to fight the fire. Two Canadair water bombers were deployed and two Dash aircraft, with additional reinforcements allocated from other areas of France. By midday, the fire in this area had increased to 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres).
By the morning of 14 July, 1,750 hectares (4,300 acres) had been burnt in Arcachon near La Teste-de-Buch with no injuries reported. The fire was not under control and was difficult to access. From 5 a.m., sixty people were evacuated from an area north of Cazaux. The D218 road remained cut between the roundabout at Pilat and the beach at Biscarosse remained closed. By the early evening, 2,900 hectares (7,200 acres) had been destroyed as two houses and campsites near the lake were under threat. Further evacuations took place in the afternoon around Cazaux and 4,000 evacuees were now being housed as a reception centre at La Teste-de-Buch.
In Landiras, 2,100 hectares (5,200 acres) had burnt near Langon by the morning with no injuries reported. The fire was not under control and the D115, D125 and D220 roads were closed. Guillos and the hamlets of Lahon and Hil et Petit-Hil were evacuated and by the evening, the fire had burnt through 2,400 hectares (5,900 acres).
Nearly one thousand firefighters, four Canadairs and two Dash aircraft had been mobilised. The prefect, Fabienne Buccio placed the Gironde department on Orange alert due to the weather conditions and the risk of other forest fires.
By the morning of 15 July, 3,150 hectares (7,800 acres) had burnt at the La Teste-de-Buch, the fire having reached the lake at Cazaux while 10,000 people had been evacuated so far. The fire was still not under control and at Cazaux three houses and two restaurants had been destroyed. Bulldozers were brought in to attempt to build firebreaks ahead of the fire. Around a thousand firefighters, three Canadairs and one Dash aircraft were being deployed to fight the fires in both areas that morning.
Evacuees from the campsites around La Teste-de-Buch, evacuated since 12 July, returned on 15 July, with individuals allowed to return to the sites to pack up their camping gear and luggage. Most inhabitants of Cazaux were not allowed back to check on their homes and pets.
4,500 hectares (11,000 acres) had been destroyed near Landiras, but increased to 4,700 hectares (12,000 acres) by the evening. Further evacuations had been carried out throughout the day at Louchats, Origne, Balizac and La Broque with around 1,900 evacuated. One house at Guillos had been destroyed and more roads closed in the fire area.
Greece and Italy made two Canadair water bombers available for France. They arrived in France that morning, being mobilised to the south of France. President Emmanuel Macron visited the Ministry of Interior's crisis centre in Paris to be briefed on the progress to fight the fire.
On 16 July, some inhabitants of Cazaux were allowed through to retrieve belongings and pets while others could not go due to the road to the town being overrun again by fire. The fire at La Teste-de-Buch fire was contained but still burning with the possibility of becoming out of control if the temperatures stayed high and the winds rise again.
The town of Cabanac-et-Villagrains was evacuated as were 1,900 people from the Hostens. At Hostens, an evacuation order was issued but residents were not obliged to leave and if they chose to stay, they had to declare that position. The amount of vegetation and forest burnt in the two fires now stood at under 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres). Two new accommodation centres were opened in Saucats and Belin-Béliet.
Aerial water bombers dropped 10,000 litres (2,200 imp gal; 2,600 US gal) of fire retardant on the fire fronts to stop the progress of the fire. It had been reported that so far only four firefighters were injured, one fire appliance overturned and one was burnt. Three thousand buildings had been saved.
President of the Gironde Departmental Council, Jean-Luc Gleyze pleaded for more Canadair and Dash aircraft on site to fight the fire as some Canadair water bombers had been moved to other areas in France. Some, he complained, had arrived too late and made containing the fire harder. He said if the fire at La Teste-de-Buch could be contained between the coast and Lac de Cazaux, then more resources could then be moved to the Landiras.
Jean-Marc Pelletant, mayor of Landiras said a team of prosecutors from Bordeaux had arrived and were investigating if there was any criminal activity responsible for the fire, a situation he was not aware of.
On 17 July, the evacuation of 2,100 people in Cabanac began during the day with more than 16,000 people evacuated since 12 July. The prefecture announced at midday that around 11,000 ha (27,000 acres) had been burnt in the two fires. 1,500 firemen from all over France were fighting the fire. At the La Teste-de-Buch fire, 3,400 ha (8,400 acres) had burnt while at the Landiras fire, 7,200 ha (18,000 acres) had been lost. The fire at Landiras was said to have a perimeter of 12 km (7.5 mi) by 6 km (3.7 mi) with several fire heads.
Midday at the La-Teste-de-Buch fire, saw the construction of firebreaks continued with the fire fought on left and right flanks to protect campsites and dwellings. During the day at the Landiras fire, the DFCI (Défense des Forêts Contre les Incendies) continued to build firebreaks in front of the fire. By evening, 3,900 ha (9,600 acres) had burnt at La-Teste-de-Buch and 9,000 ha (22,000 acres) at Landiras after the fire situation deteriorated during the afternoon, with fire at the former having reached the ocean at Banc d'Arguin and turned south. And at Landiras, the fire had several fronts when the wind changed. Resources to fight the fire had been increased but were still to deploy with an additional three aircraft, two hundred firefighters and eleven more fire appliances allocated. In the Landiras region, two new shelters were opened in Langon while one was closed at Saucats.
On 18 July, in the La Teste-de-Buch and Landiras areas, more than 16,000 people were evacuated as fires continue to spread across Gironde.
The wildfire plume from Gironde also traveled hundreds of kilometers, reaching the Île-de-France region by the late afternoon of July 19.
In Brasparts, Monts d'Arrée, Finistère, a large moorland fire started, forcing the evacuation of 300 people while more than 1700 hectares burned. It was caused by two distinct fires a few kilometers apart, both of human origin, one obviously criminal according to Quimper prosecutor Carine Halley.
August Gironde Fires
As of 12 August 2022, more than 1,000 firefighters were fighting a megafire in Gironde, which has destroyed about 7,400 ha (18,000 acres) of forest and forced 10,000 residents to flee. Firefighters from Poland, Romania, Austria and Germany and helicopters from Greece, Italy and Sweden helped extinguish the fires.
Germany
On 25 July, a forest fire covering an area of 800 ha (2,000 acres) led to the evacuation of 700 people in the villages of Rehfeld and Kölsa in the state of Brandenburg. Seven firefighters suffered injuries.
Wildfires in the Czech Republic crossed the border to the Saxon Switzerland on 25 July 2022 with fires near Großer Winterberg and Kirnitzschtal.
On 4 August, a fire broke out at an explosives disposal site in Grunewald, a forest in Berlin. Due to the fire, the Bundesautobahn 115, a highway located approximately 500 m (1,600 ft) from the explosives disposal site, remained closed for all traffic until the evening of 10 August, when it was confirmed that the safety of travellers would not be compromised by any remaining explosives inside the forest.
Greece
Wildfires broke out on 14 July, affecting areas near Preveza. Seven villages near Rethymno were evacuated because of fires.
On 19 July, a wildfire broke out near the Pantokratoros Monastery. The villages of Drafi and Pallini were evacuated.
Italy
A wildfire broke out on 15 July in a corn field in Bibione, San Michele al Tagliamento.On the evening of 18 July a large fire breaks out in Massarosa (Province of Lucca), which in 5 days has destroyed beyond 900 hectares (at 22 July) until it reaches the Province of Pisa.
Lebanon
On 9 July, a large wildfire engulfed a pine forest near Nabatieh.
Malta
On 18 July, a wildfire broke out in grassland in Mriehel.
Morocco
In July 2022, at the same time as wildfires across Europe, Morocco was affected by large wildfires as a result of historic heatwaves. The Royal Moroccan Armed Forces and firefighters have struggled to get the situation under control. The forests of Taza, Tetouan and Larache have been burning. 500 families were evacuated from the provinces of Larache and Taza. 1,331 families were evacuated from 20 villages, and around 170 houses were destroyed south of the port of Tangier.
One person was killed during the fires, and 1,500 ha (3,700 acres) of forest have been destroyed.