Home / Disasters and Accidents / France Wildfires Rage: 4,000 Flee Resorts
France Wildfires Rage: 4,000 Flee Resorts
28 Jul
Summary
- Nearly 4,000 people evacuated from Lacanau tourist sites.
- Gironde region has seen over 260,000 people evacuated.
- Fires have scorched 42,000 hectares, an unprecedented crisis.
Raging wildfires continue to plague south-west France, with new maps illustrating the scale of the devastation. In the Gironde region, almost 4,000 additional people were evacuated from tourist areas around Lacanau. This latest evacuation order impacts campsites and holiday villages.
More than 260,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in the Gironde region since the main blaze began last Wednesday near Saumos. The fires have burned through 42,000 hectares, an area four times the size of Paris. Officials stated the main fire was stabilized overnight but warned it could reignite.
France is facing a new heatwave, with temperatures expected to reach 35C to 37C in the south-west on Tuesday and climb higher on Wednesday, potentially reaching 40C in some areas. The Gironde region is under a yellow heat warning. French President Emmanuel Macron described the situation as France's worst fire crisis since World War II, with over 448 square miles burned across France this year.
