French authorities have issued a mandatory evacuation order for the complete Cap Ferret peninsula as deadly wildfires persistently ravage the southwest region. Tens of thousands of individuals are currently being evacuated from the upscale resort area, with hundreds opting to escape by boat while firefighters battle extensive flames across France’s Gironde region. The ongoing fire has already consumed approximately 10,000 hectares of land, equivalent to about one and a half times the size of Manhattan, prompting the deployment of water-bombing aircraft to manage the infernos.
President Emmanuel Macron has announced that France has activated the European Union’s civil protection mechanism to request assistance, highlighting the ongoing “very intense” crisis. According to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), the total land burnt in EU countries this year is the second-largest on record. Simultaneously, Spain has declared a national emergency due to wildfires near its capital, Madrid.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez revealed that 40,000 individuals have been evacuated or are in the process of evacuating from the Cap Ferret peninsula. Visitors like Headmaster David Morton, 53, from Gloucester, who was vacationing with his family at a coastal village on the peninsula, received an emergency evacuation alert in the middle of the night, prompting them to swiftly leave the area. Driving past towering flames, Morton described the harrowing experience of witnessing the magnitude of the fire.
Local authorities reported that the fires have destroyed 53 homes and a campsite, although efforts saved around 2,000 houses. Evacuations commenced in the town of Arès due to rapidly spreading fires, while another major fire near Biscarrosse led to the evacuation of over 23,000 individuals in the Landes region. With high temperatures reaching 37C and strong winds up to 50km/h, officials anticipate that the fire near Biscarrosse will not be extinguished by the end of Friday.
While no casualties were reported overnight in southwest France, two firefighters tragically lost their lives earlier in the week near Bordeaux airport while combating a blaze. The country has witnessed an alarming increase in wildfires this year, surpassing 300 incidents compared to an average of 93 annually, as reported by EFFIS.
