Around 12,000 evacuated as wildfire scorches 2,400 hectares near Bordeaux's Arcachon Bay
The fire, which started Wednesday in Saumos, has burned up to 2,400 hectares of pine forest and forced the evacuation of tourists from campsites and residents from forest-edge homes. No injuries have been reported.
Outbreak and spread
A wildfire that ignited on Wednesday midday in Saumos, Gironde, has torn through pine forest north of Arcachon Bay, burning between 2,000 and 2,400 hectares by Thursday morning. The flames advanced rapidly, first reaching the commune of Le Porge and then pushing toward Lège-Cap-Ferret, a popular Atlantic coastal resort. Firefighters described a convective-phase blaze that was moving in multiple directions, with flames reaching several dozen metres in height. Several roads in the area have been closed, and the prefecture has banned the use of internal combustion and electric engines in forested zones.
We have a convective-phase fire, going in all directions.
Evacuations and response
Around 12,000 people were ordered to leave their accommodations overnight. About 10,000 of those evacuated were tourists staying at eight holiday centres and three campsites, while roughly 1,000 residents living along the forest edge were also moved to safety. Nine municipalities, including Lège-Cap-Ferret, Lacanau, Le Porge, and Bordeaux, opened reception centres where more than 2,500 evacuees took shelter. The prefect of Gironde, Sophie Brocas, appealed solemnly for compliance with evacuation orders so that firefighters could concentrate on the forest.
There is no immediate danger but it must be done now.
Five hundred firefighters, supported by 150 vehicles and a fleet of water-bombers (two Dash, two Canadair and four Air Tractor aircraft), are working to contain the blaze. Additional aerial reinforcements were expected on Thursday morning. No injuries have been reported so far.
Cause and conditions
The fire is believed to have been started accidentally by a land-clearing device during brush-clearing work on a forest track in Saumos. The mayor of Le Porge, Martial Zaninetti, said the fire was triggered by a clearing machine, and the gendarmerie is treating the incident as unintentional, pending confirmation. The region has been under severe water stress after a succession of heatwaves that began before summer, leaving vegetation highly flammable. France has recorded more than 12,500 wildfires since the start of the year, burning almost 44,000 hectares, according to Interior Minister Laurent Nunez.
- Fire breaks out in Saumos, Gironde, and spreads rapidly through pine forest.
- Flames reach Le Porge and move toward Lège-Cap-Ferret; first evacuations of 5,000 people ordered.
- Additional 7,000 people evacuated from six campsites and a naturist residential area north of Cap Ferret.
- 500 firefighters continue battle with 150 vehicles and aerial support; reinforcements expected.
Broader European crisis
The Gironde fire is one of several large wildfires burning across southern Europe. In Spain, a blaze in Guadalajara province has destroyed around 32,000 hectares and forced the evacuation of 1,200 people from 34 localities. In Italy, a firefighter died while tackling a wildfire in San Cataldo, Sicily, where more than 350 fires have been recorded, ten of them major. Sicilian Civil Protection head Salvo Cocina said the fires had human causes and described firefighting as a social and public order problem. Europe has already seen more land burned this year than the annual average of the past two decades, as the continent endures three nearly back-to-back heatwaves.
