France wildfires evacuation sends more than 20,000 fleeing near Bordeaux
More than 20,000 residents and tourists have fled fires west of Bordeaux as crews battle flames near Lège-Cap-Ferret.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
2 min read
A France wildfires evacuation has forced more than 20,000 residents and holidaymakers to leave parts of the southwest as flames spread toward a popular Atlantic coast resort area, AFP and Reuters reported. About 800 firefighters were fighting the blaze on Thursday roughly 50 kilometres, or 30 miles, west of Bordeaux, backed by hundreds of gendarmes and soldiers.
Firefighting aircraft have been dropping water since the fire broke out on Wednesday, according to AFP and Reuters. Officials and residents said the blaze appeared to have been sparked by a brush-clearing machine.
Where are the France wildfires forcing evacuations?
The fire started in the village of Saumos and moved toward Lège-Cap-Ferret, AFP and Reuters reported. The area is known for sand dunes, cycling routes and oyster shacks, and is a well-known holiday destination on France’s western coast.
Firefighters said the blaze moved quickly through dense pine forest and burned 3,400 hectares, or about 8,500 acres. AFP and Reuters described that area as about five times the size of Gibraltar.
Three houses were scorched and a caravan was destroyed, but no casualties had been reported, according to AFP and Reuters. The European Union sent three water-bombing aircraft after France asked for assistance, EU officials said.
Weather is making the fire harder to control
Lège-Cap-Ferret Mayor Philippe de Gonneville said crews were facing difficult conditions, with temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius, or 86 degrees Fahrenheit, and winds shifting to the east and northeast. “The weather is not on our side,” he said, according to AFP and Reuters.
France has faced three heatwaves since May, AFP and Reuters reported. The heat has dried rivers and helped fuel wildfires during increasingly frequent extreme weather episodes linked to climate change.
The fire near Lège-Cap-Ferret comes during a deadly week for French firefighters. Two firefighters died while battling a separate blaze near Bordeaux airport, and firefighter unions have said crews are exhausted and lack enough resources, AFP and Reuters reported.
How this fire fits into Europe’s wildfire season
Earlier in July, flames damaged about 10 percent of the UNESCO-listed Fontainebleau forest outside Paris, a rare fire that far north, AFP and Reuters reported. In 2022, fires burned 30,000 hectares, or 74,000 acres, of forest in France and forced about 50,000 people to evacuate.
Across Europe, three successive heatwaves this season have worsened drought, strained water supplies and dried out vegetation, according to AFP and Reuters. The continent has already seen wildfires burn more land this year than the annual average over the past two decades, and the heat has been blamed for thousands of deaths.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.