Wildfire bars fans from Tour de France segment as parts of Europe sizzle again under extreme heat

Firefighters work on a wildfire in Ille-sur-Têt, southern France, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)

MADRID — A large wildfire in the south of France prompted Tour de France organizers to ban fans on Monday from attending the finale of the third stage of the cycling showpiece race.

After a couple of days in Spain, the race entered France with a stage to the Pyrenees town of Les Angles, about 60 kilometers from a fire that has burned almost 1,821 hectares of land.

Tour de France organizers said the large wildfire currently in the Pyrénées-Orientales required a large mobilization of wildfire-fighting resources, internal security forces, and other government agencies.

“The top priority remains the protection of people, property, and natural areas, as well as bringing the fire under control,” authorities said.

As a result, organizers decided that once the peloton reaches France for the last 40 kilometers, the publicity caravan — a 10-kilometer procession of sponsor vehicles that precedes the race — would not be able to operate.

Only riders and vehicles essential to the race would be allowed on the route, and spectators were asked not to gather on the roadside or at the finish area.

Stage 3 started from the Spanish town of Granollers, where temperatures reached around 35 degrees Celsius, race organizers said, quoting the Spanish Meteorological Agency.

Nearly 700 firefighters were battling the blaze, which led authorities on Sunday night to order the evacuation of more than two dozen villages.

Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, with temperatures increasing twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Globally, 2025 was the third-hottest year on record, bringing severe heatwaves across Europe.

Scores of wildfires break out in Greece

In Greece, 96 wildfires had broken out over the past 48 hours, the country’s government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said Monday. The vast majority were quickly brought under control before they could spread, he said.

Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, especially in southeastern Europe, making the region more vulnerable to health impacts and wildfires.

The most significant fire broke out Sunday afternoon in the Mandra area west of the capital, Athens. Authorities deployed 29 aircraft and more than 200 firefighters in a race to tame the blaze before nightfall, when firefighting planes can no longer operate. By Monday, the fire had abated, although it had not been fully extinguished.

Several parts of the country were listed as being at a high or very high risk of wildfires on Monday due to strong winds. One wildfire that broke out in the southern island of Crete triggered evacuation orders for a village near the town of Ierapetra. The blaze, which was burning through mainly agricultural land, was being fanned by strong winds, the fire department said.

Another heatwave in Spain and Portugal

In the Iberian Peninsula, another surge in heat spread across Spain and Portugal, where hundreds of firefighters were also working to contain wildfires.

Spain’s weather agency AEMET warned that a heatwave that began Sunday would endure at least until Thursday, bringing elevated daytime and nighttime temperatures. Across much of Spain, including the capital Madrid, daytime highs were expected to range between 37 C and 42 C on Monday and Tuesday.

Overnight conditions were also forecast to be uncomfortably hot, with temperatures easily exceeding 20 C — which scientists refer to as ‘tropical nights’. This means people might not be recovering properly from daytime heat in the overnight hours.

In Portugal, inland locations saw temperatures soar Monday, while coastal Lisbon also baked under temperatures reaching 33 C. Temperatures were expected to drop later in the week.

Associated Press writers John Leicester in Paris and Elena Becatoros in Athens contributed to this report

Suman Naishadham, The Associated Press