Horror ‘firenado’ scorches French holiday hotspot – thousands evacuated | World | News
A rapidly spreading wildfire has scorched through 2,000 hectares of land in a popular European holiday hotspot, sparking the evacuation of more than 10,000 people. The intense “fire tornado” swept through the commune of Saumos in the Gironde department of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
The wildfire is burning near the Arcachon Bay region, a popular tourist destination, prompting authorities to evacuate numerous people from the area. Many of those displaced are tourists who were staying at nearby campsites as the blaze continues to threaten the region. Local authorities reported that a wildfire in a forest near Lège-Cap-Ferret, southwest of Bordeaux, has spread across more than 31 square kilometres (12 square miles).
Despite the scale of the blaze, no injuries have been reported so far. Sophie Brocas, the prefect of the Gironde region, said around 700 firefighters have been mobilised to combat the fire, including reinforcements from the Paris region. T
The flames advanced to within 300 metres (980 feet) of the first homes in Lège.
The incident comes less than two weeks after a devastating blaze swept through Almería province in southern Spain, highlighting the growing threat posed by extreme summer fires across the country.
The earlier fire struck a small expatriate community and, despite its relatively limited size, spread with exceptional speed and intensity due to hot, dry, and windy conditions. The blaze claimed 13 lives, including seven British nationals, making it one of Spain’s deadliest wildfires in recent years.
After a series of heat waves that began even before the start of summer, France has been battling widespread wildfires fueled by record-breaking temperatures and prolonged dry conditions.
The extreme heat has left plants and vegetation severely dehydrated, making forests and grasslands highly vulnerable to ignition and allowing fires to spread more rapidly.
According to Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, more than 12,500 wildfires have erupted across the country since the beginning of the year, with nearly 44,000 hectares of land already destroyed.
