Wildfires across Europe have burned more than half a million hectares this year and caused an estimated €15.6 billion to €19.1 billion ($18 billion to $22 billion) in total damage and economic loss, according to a preliminary assessment by AccuWeather experts. More than 530,000 hectares have burned in EU countries so far in 2026, putting the season on pace with 2025, when 1.08 million hectares were lost across the bloc. Eleven people had been brought before prosecutors in Gironde by July 28 on charges ranging from arson to endangering others. More than 2 million hectares of EU forest burned in the four years covered by the audit. Credit ratings agency Morningstar DBRS has put France’s total losses at €10 billion to €15 billion, which would make the blazes the country’s costliest wildfire event on record.