More than 20,000 evacuated after intense wildfire in France

Firefighters battle the blaze using a water truck near the village of Le Porge in south-western France. Photograph: Romain Perrocheau/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Firefighters battle the blaze using a water truck near the village of Le Porge in south-western France. Photograph: Romain Perrocheau/AFP/Getty Images More than 20,000 evacuated after intense wildfire in France Reception centres open to thousands of evacuees after blaze begins in pine forest 45km west of Bordeaux Europe live – latest updates More than 20,000 people, including thousands of tourists from campsites and other holiday accommodation, have been evacuated as a “particularly intense” wildfire advances on the Atlantic coast of south-west France , authorities have said. The blaze, which began in dense pine forest near the village of Saumos about 40km (25 miles) west of Bordeaux and just north of the bay of Arcachon, a popular tourist destination, had burned 2,400 hectares (5,928 acres) in less than 24 hours, firefighters said on Thursday. No casualties had been reported or homes destroyed so far, they said, but the Gironde prefecture said that while 700 firefighters and four waterbombing planes were battling to bring the fire under control, the situation “remains unfavourable”. France has endured three almost back-to-back heatwaves since May as climate breakdown leads to more frequent and intense extreme weather events causing thousands of excess deaths , evaporating soils and waterways and fuelling wildfires. View image in fullscreen Smoke rising from the wildfire in Saumos is photographed from Arès on Wednesday. Photograph: Romain Perrocheau/AFP/Getty Images Patrick Martineau, 69, who was evacuated from the village of Le Porge, told Agence- France Presse that police had “come banging on the doors … It’s scary – hard to take in. When we bought a home here, we never thought there’d be a fire risk.” Sylvie, a holidaymaker from Paris staying in the relatively more built-up area of Lège-Cap-Ferret, said a neighbour had told her: “‘Get your bags ready, we’re going to be evacuated during the night.’ We put the bulk of our stuff in the car boot and left.” In 2022, a wildfire burned more than 30,000 hectares in the same area, forcing about 50,000 people to be evacuated. In tinder-dry conditions and fanned by a strong wind, the latest blaze has torn through the forest, with flames reaching 10m high. Nine local municipalities have opened reception centres for evacuees and were sheltering more than 2,500 people, the prefecture said. About 8,800 people were evacuated at midday on Thursday, after 2,000 in the morning and 10,000 overnight. Numerous roads in the area – including those leading to the Cap Ferret peninsula a few kilometres to the south, home to the villas of celebrities and millionaires and one of France’s most exclusive holiday spots – were closed to all but essential traffic. View image in fullscreen A helicopter drops water over a burning area as a wildfire flares