Thousands of tourists have been forced to evacuate after major fires in France
France has once again been hit by extensive forest fires.
One of the worst-hit areas is Gironde in southwestern France.
There, the fire has devoured around 3,400 hectares of forest and over 20,000 residents and tourists have been evacuated.
The fire broke out at lunchtime on Wednesday in a forest area in Saumos, northwest of Bordeaux, and quickly spread towards the popular tourist areas of Le Porge, Lège-Cap-Ferret and Arcachon Bay.
Thousands of tourists have been evacuated from campsites and holiday resorts in the area at short notice. Around 700 firefighters are working to try to stop the fire. Water-bombing aircraft have also been called in.
The fire is contained within a demarcated area, but is still not under control. Several re-ignitions are making it difficult to put out the fire. So far, no injuries have been reported.
A fire tornado was filmed in Saumos on Wednesday evening. The unusual phenomenon can spread embers and burning material over great distances, which risks creating new fire centers, reports Le Parisien.
Historically severe fire season
Southeast France is also affected. In the Var region, a forest fire near Pontevès and Cotignac has burned around 2,500 hectares. Some 30 buildings have been damaged and several hundred people have been evacuated.
At the same time, France is mourning two firefighters who died while putting out a separate fire in Mérignac, near Bordeaux airport, on Tuesday. They were not connected to the large forest fire in Saumos.
12,500 forest fires
2026 looks set to be an exceptionally severe fire year in France. According to Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, more than 12,500 forest fires have broken out since the beginning of the year. Almost 44,000 hectares have already burned – almost two-thirds of the record level recorded in all of 2022.
Never in 20 years of measurements have so many areas burned in France by mid-July, according to Le Parisien.
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