Firefighters battled on Sunday to contain wildfires threatening the outskirts of Bordeaux, as authorities expanded evacuation orders and warned the blazes were spreading rapidly during an intense heatwave across southern Europe.
More than 220,000 people have now been evacuated from southwestern France after fires that broke out earlier this week reached Cap Ferret, a popular holiday destination on the Atlantic coast.
Officials said the wildfire advanced quickly overnight, fuelled by high temperatures and dry conditions.
"Over the course of last night, the fire was observed to have made rapid progress," the local authority for the Bordeaux area said in a statement.
The Bordeaux region, renowned for its vineyards, is also a major transport hub for tourists travelling to seaside resorts along France's Atlantic coast.
High winds have stoked and spread the fires in both France and Spain. The coast near Bordeaux is a tourist hotspot which includes pine forests that can catch fire easily. The city is also famous for its eponymous wines from nearby vineyards.
"We expect a fight that will be long and very difficult," Interior Minister Laurent Nunez later told reporters on Saturday.
France's armed forces have been drafted in to help overwhelmed fire brigades. On Saturday afternoon an A400M military transport aircraft, the biggest in France's fleet, joined the effort by dumping liquid over a flame-hit forest, Reuters TV footage filmed from a helicopter showed.
Local farmers joined firefighters in an effort to slow the advance of the flames.
"We came to lend a hand because if it were our region, we'd want others to do the same," said 65-year-old farmer Pascal Roudier. "Given the scale of the disaster, we think our efforts are very welcome too."
The fires in France come as large parts of Europe endure an intense summer heatwave. Spain has declared a national emergency over multiple wildfires, while an elderly man died in a blaze near Valencia.
Many Madrid residents have second homes in the area west of the capital where the two fires merged, which is still in the administrative region of Madrid.
A third fire in Avila province has threatened to merge with the two in Madrid. Further complicating efforts to control them, one firefighters' union in Madrid is on strike, although the impact on numbers of firefighters deployed appeared small.
So far in July, high temperatures have averaged 32.2 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Aquitaine region, which is 7.3 C above the month's normal high between 1961 and 1990, Reuters Climate Monitor shows.
At least seven people have been killed and more than 125 injured after two passenger trains collided in Egypt’s Giza province, south of Cairo...
A 24-year-old man who killed six people in Poland’s central city of Krakow had advanced military-style shooting skills, according to a s...
Monday marks the second of two days of national mourning in Poland as police bolstered security after six people were killed in a mass sh...
Poland has declared two days of national mourning after a gunman opened fire in Kraków's historic main square. Investigators are examining possible far-right influences and the discovery of three bodies at the suspect's home.
Monday marks the second of two days of national mourning in Poland as police bolstered security after six people were killed in a mass shooting in Kraków.
Russian forces launched a ballistic missile attack on Kyiv early on Saturday, 7 November, injuring two people and damaging residential buildings, just three days before U.S.-led peace talks with Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthis said it intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles fired by the Iran-aligned group towards Riyadh on Sunday (8 November), after loud booms were heard in the Saudi capital. The Aramco building was damaged by falling debris.
New Zealand’s ruling centre-right National Party has taken a narrow lead over the opposition Labour Party in Saturday’s general election, with the country’s current three-party coalition projected to retain power.
At least seven people have been killed and more than 125 injured after two passenger trains collided in Egypt’s Giza province, south of Cairo, on Sunday.
A 24-year-old man who killed six people in Poland’s central city of Krakow had advanced military-style shooting skills, according to a spokesperson for the gun club he attended.
Monday marks the second of two days of national mourning in Poland as police bolstered security after six people were killed in a mass shooting in Kraków.
Clashes between protesters and police erupted in Paris and Marseille on Saturday as demonstrations over rising living costs and declining public services continued for a fourth consecutive weekend across France.
Security measures have been stepped up in Antalya, Türkiye, ahead of the COP31 United Nations climate summit, which begins on Monday, 9 November, with thousands of additional personnel deployed across the Mediterranean city.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment