According to AFP, the fire broke out from a pine forest area near Saumos village, about 50km west of Bordeaux (France). The fire spread quickly through the pine forest with many columns up to 10m high. In less than 24 hours, the fire burned down about 3,400 hectares of forest.
About 800 firefighters, along with hundreds of military personnel, were mobilized to control the fire. Firefighters have also continuously released water since the fire broke out.
Firefighters said that so far the fire has damaged 3 houses and 1 mobile trailer, but no casualties have been recorded.
After France offered support, the European Union (EU) dispatched 3 firefighting aircraft from other member countries to participate in extinguishing the fire.
According to local authorities, about 12,000 people and tourists at campsites, guesthouses and residential areas were evacuated on the first day of the fire. By July 23, an additional 8,800 people continued to be taken to safety, bringing the total number of evacuated people to more than 20,000.
About 15 emergency reception centers have been opened to support people.
According to Lège-Cap-Ferret town Mayor Philippe de Gonneville, the weather is causing many disadvantages for firefighting when the temperature is always above 30 degrees Celsius, the wind is changing direction to east and northeast with quite strong intensity. The fire has now been controlled in the northern area of the town.
This is the latest wildfire to occur in France this summer. Since May, the country has experienced 3 heat waves, leading to many extreme weather phenomena related to climate change.
Prolonged hot weather not only increases the risk of forest fires but also causes many rivers to dry up and causes thousands of deaths exceeding expectations.
This is not the first time this area has suffered serious forest fires. In 2022, a fire burned more than 30,000 hectares of forest and forced about 50,000 people to evacuate. In early July this year, another fire also devastated about 1/10 of the area of Fontainebleau forest - a UNESCO-recognized forest located near Paris (France).
