Around 20,000 people have been evacuated in southwestern France as wildfires continue to spread across the Gironde region, forcing authorities to move residents and tourists away from affected areas.
Approximately 12,000 people have already been evacuated, while another 8,800 are being relocated as emergency services battle the expanding fires near the Arcachon Bay area. Local authorities said around 3,400 hectares (8,400 acres) of land have already been destroyed, with nearly 700 firefighters deployed to contain the flames.
Many of those forced to leave their homes overnight were visitors staying at local campsites on the Lège-Cap-Ferret peninsula. Recent evacuations have also included additional campsites as a precautionary measure due to worsening fire conditions.
The Gironde region has been facing increasingly difficult conditions, with rising temperatures and stronger winds making the fires harder to predict and control.
Gironde Prefect Sophie Brocas said that around 10,000 tourists were among those evacuated from campsites overnight, adding that further evacuations in the village of Claouey, located on the Arcachon Bay coast, were being carried out calmly.
No injuries have been reported so far. Authorities have closed several locations and roads in vulnerable forest areas as a safety measure.
“The work continued without interruption throughout the night,” said Marc Vermeulen, head of the Gironde fire service, warning that rising temperatures and changing winds were creating dangerous conditions.
“The fire will be difficult to predict, and therefore we cannot reduce our vigilance,” he said.
The wildfires come as other parts of southern Europe are also dealing with severe fires. Blazes have been reported in Spain and Italy in recent days, with residents evacuated near Toledo, south of Madrid, and a firefighter dying after becoming ill while battling a wildfire in Sicily.
Earlier this week, two local firefighters in France also died while fighting another fire near Bordeaux Airport.
