A wildfire that broke out near Biscarrosse in south-west France on Thursday evening spread to the edge of the town after burning 1,200 hectares, forcing the evacuation of more than 5,000 people.
Around 250 firefighters have been deployed to tackle the blaze between the seaside resort, south of Arcachon Bay, and the inland commune of Sanguinet, local authorities said. Reinforcements are expected.
Earlier, crews were supported from the air by a Dash aircraft and two Canadair water bombers as they tried to contain the fire in an area with several campsites along Lake Cazaux.
But the flames spread rapidly through the pine trees of the Landes de Gascogne forest. At 7 p.m., the prefecture was still reporting that only 200 hectares had burned. Later in the evening, the prefecture told AFP that the fire had reached the eastern outskirts of Biscarrosse.
The new blaze comes as 800 firefighters have been battling another fire since Wednesday north of Arcachon Bay. That fire, which started in Saumos, has ravaged 4,800 hectares and led to the precautionary evacuation of nearly 20,000 people.
According to the government, more than 12,500 wildfires have been recorded since January, and the area already burned this year has exceeded the total for 2022.
In 2022, fires scorched nearly 30,000 hectares across the Landes de Gascogne forest and forced the evacuation of about 50,000 people.
Vegetation and soils have been extremely dry for months, a situation worsened by a recent series of exceptional heatwaves.
