On Wednesday, about 600 firefighters, aided by six water-bomber planes, were battling to put out two wildfires in southwestern France that had already burned over 1,700 hectares and forced the evacuation of thousands of tourists.
“Important human and material resources are being deployed to master the fires local and national reinforcements are expected,” said the Gironde department’s local authority.
France, which has already been hit by a series of wildfires in recent weeks, is now experiencing the second heatwave in as many months, along with the rest of Europe.
On Tuesday, several wildfires raged across Portugal’s central region and western Spain, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people.
The larger of the two Gironde fires are near the town of Landiras, south of Bordeaux, where roads have been closed and 500 residents have been evacuated, despite the fact that the blaze has already burned over 1,000 hectares.
The other is along the Atlantic Coast, near the iconic “Dune du Pilat” Europe’s tallest sand dune – in the Arcachon Bay area, where heavy clouds of dark smoke were seen rising in the sky.
This fire has already burned 700 hectares and forced the evacuation of 6,000 people from five nearby campsites. They were taken to a nearby exhibition center for shelter.
“Around 4:30 a.m., other campers woke us up.” We had to leave right away and decide what to take with us. I had forgotten my ID, which was thankfully taken for me. But I don’t have my phone and we have no idea what will happen,” Christelle, one of the evacuated tourists, told BFM TV.
On the eve of Bastille Day, the Gironde prefecture has banned all fireworks in towns and villages near forests until Monday, July 18.
