Firefighters are battling to contain wildfires burning near to the city of Bordeaux as tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from the surrounding region.
France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said the situation in the region remained “very unfavourable” and the fire was “moving erratically towards” Bordeaux, though officials downplayed the possibility of evacuation.
Overnight into Sunday, about 55,000 people were evacuated from villages to the south of the city in the Gironde region, famed for its vineyards.
Wildfires have raged across Europe over the past week, primarily in France and Spain, where more than 330,000 people have been evacuated.
France has been one of worst affected regions, with an area of 42,000 hectares burnt in the south-west, making it one of the largest forest fires since World War Two. About 98,000 hectares have burnt across the country since the start of the year.
In total, more than 220,000 people have been evacuated in the south-west of the country.
Captain Nicolas Braz, one of the leaders of the firefighting operation, said the fire had created “its own winds – complete with whirlwinds”, adding it was “erratic and unmanageable”.
Residents in Le Porge, one of the coastal towns hit by the fires, have set up an improvised volunteer network to support exhausted firefighters, cooking them meals and offering a place to rest in between shifts.
“I think many of them have never experienced a fire of this magnitude before,” volunteer Nathalie Augonnet said.
More than 150 houses have been destroyed in the town of 3,500 inhabitants.
