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Wildland fires occur across Europe every summer, but those that erupted in Spain and France in July 2026 were among the largest and most disruptive the two countries have faced in decades. Some of the most consequential fires emerged in southwestern France’s Gironde Department and Spain’s Ávila and Madrid provinces in mid-July, where blazes forced hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate and destroyed hundreds of homes.

Government officials in Spain say that a fire in Ávila, after charring around 50,000 hectares (124,000 acres), is the largest on record, surpassing a blaze that burned in Larouco, Quiroga, and Oencia in 2025. NASA satellites first observed signs of the Ávila fire burning near Burgohondo on July 22 and July 23. By July 24, it had merged with fires in neighboring provinces, pushing the total area burned to 77,000 hectares, an area about the size of New York City.

The image above, captured by Landsat 9, shows charred landscapes around Burgohondo on July 29, 2026. In the false-color image, unburned vegetation appears light green, and burned areas appear brown. The two reservoirs in the center of the image were heavily affected. Flames tore through homes, restaurants, campgrounds, marinas, and other infrastructure surrounding the reservoirs, according to news reports.

A similar crisis unfolded in southwestern France, west of Bordeaux. One of the largest fires to burn in France this decade charred more than 42,000 hectares, prompting large-scale evacuations and devastating the village of Le Porge. As of late July, fires had burned more than 90,000 hectares across France, more than any other season in decades, according to data from the European Forest Fire Information System.

Environmental conditions months before the fires ignited made the landscape in both Spain and France particularly susceptible to burning, according to an analysis conducted by researchers with The State of Wildfires Project. Unusually wet winter weather enhanced vegetation growth in grasslands, shrublands, and forest understories, and then a series of sweltering heat waves and a period of drought parched the vegetation and primed it to burn. Several days of strong winds reaching 65 kilometers (40 miles) per hour at times served as the final trigger, the researchers found, fanning flames and encouraging rapid spread.

On July 25, conditions at fires in southwestern France grew so intense that French firefighters reported the formation of a pyrocumulonimbus—a towering type of “fire cloud” that draws convective energy from the heat of the fires. An international group of atmospheric scientists and fire experts who track the unusual clouds has documented the occasional formation of the clouds in Spain and Portugal in recent decades, but members of the group note that this is the first report of a fire in France producing one.

Thousands of firefighters and military personnel have battled fires in both countries. Crews have used aircraft to attack the fires with water and flame retardant, while teams on the ground have constructed firebreaks using tools ranging from bulldozers to hand tools. Firefighters gained the advantage by late July, allowing authorities to start lifting evacuation orders. However, forecasters are warning that the risk of fire in the coming days remains high due to the persistence of hot, dry conditions.

Government satellite data are part of a global system of observations used to track fire behavior and analyze emerging trends. Among the real-time wildfire monitoring tools that NASA makes available are FIRMS (Fire Information for Resource Management System) and the Worldview browser.

NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Adam Voiland.

References & Resources

• AP (2026, July 30) As France tames wildfire and lets 84,000 evacuees go home, blazes flare across Europe. Accessed July 30, 2026.
• The Conversation (2026, July 29) ‘The fire has such power’: why the wildfires gripping France and Spain are off the charts. Accessed July 30, 2026.
• Drought.gov (2026, July 22) International. Accessed July 30, 2026.
• EFE (2026, July 25) France Wildfires: Record evacuations as fires near Bordeaux. Accessed July 30, 2026.
• EFE (2026, July 26) El incendio de Ávila ha quemado 50.000 hectáreas, el mayor fuego de la historia de España. Accessed July 30, 2026.
• European Commission (2026, July 30) Current wildfire situation in Europe. Accessed July 30, 2026.
• European Commission (2026, July 30) Current drought situation in Europe. Accessed July 30, 2026.
• France24 (2026, July 26) French firefighters face ‘pyrocumulonimbus’ for first time. Accessed July 30, 2026.
• NASA Earthdata, Wildfires. Accessed July 30, 2026.
• The New York Times (2026, July 28) The Fires in France and Spain Are Breaking Modern Records. Accessed July 30, 2026.
• Peterson, D., et al. (2025) Worldwide inventory reveals the frequency and variability of pyrocumulonimbus and stratospheric smoke plumes during 2013–2023. Climate and Atmospheric Science, 8, 325.
• Reuters (2026, July 27) Mapping the wildfires outside Bordeaux and Madrid. Accessed July 30, 2026.
• RTVE (2026, July 27) Anatomía del incendio más grande de la historia de España: más de 50.000 hectáreas en cinco días. Accessed July 30, 2026.
• State of Wildfires Project (2026, July) Understanding Spain’s 2026 Wildfires through hydroclimatic rebound. Accessed July 30, 2026.
• Time (2026, July 28) Photos Show the Destruction in France and Spain From Ferocious European Wildfires.Accessed July 30, 2026.

The gusty wind didn’t make it easy to hold tight to a balloon so large. The balloon, a scientific instrument called an ozonesonde, was about to be released into the atmosphere above the Texas Gulf Coast by students from NASA’s SARP (Student Airborne Research Program), which concluded its summer session July 27. The balloon’s job was to measure ozone concentrations as it rose through the atmosphere.

A dozen of the 48 undergraduate students participated in atmospheric field research. Guided by instrument scientists, university professors, and graduate students, the SARP students prepared the ozonesondes for takeoff. They chemically treated instrument cells attached to the sensor, wrangled the balloons during inflation, and finally, released them into the sky. As the balloons flew, the students monitored the data.

“This research program is a unique experience for students where they have the opportunity to see the different careers related to Earth system science,” said Yaitza Luna-Cruz, program manager for NASA’s Early Career Research Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Each student was assigned to one of four disciplines: atmospheric science, oceans, terrestrial ecology, or hydrology. They gathered field data, designed individual research projects, and presented their findings at the end of the program. When possible, they cross-checked their measurements with NASA satellite missions.

“This is such an awesome experience,” said Marin Stevens, a chemistry student from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, minutes after she released the ozonesonde into the atmosphere. “It’s way beyond what I would have expected.”

Airborne science was a highlight of the program. Five science aircraft supported the program this year, including NASA’s Gulfstream G-III, GV, and C-20A, Dynamic Aviation’s B200, and a P-III from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Students worked alongside scientists operating various instruments, such as a laser designed to collect measurements on particulates in the atmosphere.

For many students, their time in Houston was their first foray into field research, and, like the students releasing the balloons, they were eager to continue to learn and experience hands-on science. After the first two weeks, the cohort split into two, with half of the students traveling to California and half to Virginia to continue their research.

“The coolest part of SARP is the passion everyone has,” said Joelle Hopkins, SARP project manager, NASA Headquarters. “It’s so enjoyable to work with scientists, faculty, and graduate mentors who are passionate about the science, sharing the science with the students, and building the next generation of scientists.”

The annual eight-week program enhances what students are learning in the classroom by giving them hands-on field experience. It is designed to be a steppingstone into a career in field research or other STEM fields. Students participate in all aspects of a scientific campaign, including data collection, data analysis, and research. They attend science lectures and workshops, join research flights, and accompany scientists into the field.

To learn more about NASA’s Airborne Science Program, visit:

https://airbornescience.nasa.gov/

By Erica McNamee

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

NASA astronaut Deniz Burnham will embark on her first mission to the International Space Station, serving as an Expedition 76 flight engineer.

Burnham will launch aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-30 spacecraft with cosmonauts Dmitri Petelin and Konstantin Borisov. Launch is targeted for March 2027, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and the trio will spend about seven months aboard the orbiting laboratory.

During her expedition, Burnham will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help prepare humans for future exploration missions to the Moon and Mars and to benefit people on Earth.

Selected as a NASA astronaut in 2021, Burnham graduated with the agency’s 23rd astronaut class in 2024. Born at Incirlik Air Base in Adana, Turkey, Burnham moved frequently while growing up in a military family. She was living in Wasilla, Alaska, at the time of her selection.

A former intern at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, Burnham earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of California, San Diego, and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. An experienced leader in the energy industry, she spent more than a decade managing onsite drilling operations on oil rigs across North America. Burnham also served in the U.S. Navy Reserves as an engineering duty officer. She is a licensed private pilot with ratings for airplane single engine land and sea, instrument airplane, and rotorcraft-helicopter.

For more than 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. The space station helps NASA understand and overcome the challenges of human spaceflight, expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit, and build on the foundation for long-duration missions to the Moon, as part of the Artemis program, and to Mars.

To learn more about International Space Station research, operations, and its crews, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/station

-end-

Joshua Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov

Anna Schneider
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
anna.c.schneider@nasa.gov

In this July 6, 2026, image, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) reveals the nearby galaxy Centaurus A, exposing the dusty structures and hidden activity that shape this unusual system.

Centaurus A is 11 million light-years away from Earth, relatively close in cosmic terms. Yet, unlike most nearby galaxies, it is very active, making it a powerful laboratory for understanding how galaxies and black holes grow and evolve together.

Explore the galaxy through an interactive map.

Image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI), Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Macarena Garcia Marin (ESA Office at STScI)

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