France and Spain: fires continue to rage - campsites evacuated

Wildfires in France and Spain: Fires Continue to Rage - Campsites Evacuated

For many holidaymakers on the French Atlantic coast near Arcachon, the message right now is: get out fast. The wildfires are spreading rapidly there. In Spain, however, the situation appears to be easing.

It is a disaster in the middle of peak season: on the French Atlantic coast near Arcachon, southwest of Bordeaux, fires continue to spread rapidly through the pine forests. Thousands of people have already been evacuated, many of them tourists. They were forced to leave their campsites and holiday accommodations and have been housed in emergency shelters and tent camps.

"The situation is dramatic," describes ARD correspondent Michael Strempel. Emergency services are now trying to move people away from the southern tip of Cap Ferret as quickly as possible. On the peninsula, where the campsite was evacuated, locals closed their shops and the beach was deserted, as the newspaper Sud-Ouest reported. The fire around the municipality of Le Porge near Bordeaux has already consumed 3,100 hectares.

12,000 tourists and residents were evacuated from campsites and other holiday accommodations, followed later by a further 8,800 people from campsites, according to the news agency AFP.

Military Deployed

Military forces are also deployed in the region. Water-bombing aircraft are being used to contain the flames. Firefighters are attempting to keep roads passable for their supply lines.

The fire broke out on Wednesday morning in the village of Saumos. By evening and into the night, the prefect of Bordeaux, Sophie Brocas, ordered the evacuation of campsites and holiday centers.

Abandoned Vineyards

Wildfires are not unusual in France at this time of year. However, this year there is a particular factor, says ARD correspondent Michael Strempel. Due to heavy rainfall at the start of the year, grasses grew tall and then dried out rapidly during the heatwave. This has allowed the fires to spread quickly. In addition, many vineyards have been abandoned and have thus disappeared as natural firebreaks. The fires are now advancing rapidly across the overgrown areas.

The Interior Ministry has recorded 12,500 fires since the beginning of the year, with a total of 44,000 hectares already burned. This exceeds the previous record set in 2022.

The difficult situation is not yet over. According to Prefect Brocas, unpredictable winds are expected. The weather service Météo Media is forecasting temperatures of up to 34 degrees Celsius in the region.

Progress in Firefighting Efforts in Spain

Flames continue to burn in Spain as well. However, there is also positive news from there: the situation regarding the devastating wildfire in the province of Guadalajara, north of Madrid, stabilized further overnight. Authorities announced that the fire in the Sierra Norte, which has destroyed more than 32,000 hectares since July 16 and is one of the largest fires in the country's recent history, is expected to be brought fully under control soon.

Numerous localities there will remain evacuated for the time being. A forest fire near Almorox in the province of Toledo, southwest of Madrid, which had broken out on Wednesday and had temporarily caused great concern, is also being successfully combated. The spread of the flames had been largely halted, it was said. At least 200 of the approximately 1,000 evacuated people in total were expected to return to their homes during the course of the day. According to the Ministry of the Environment, five major forest fires were still active nationwide on Thursday morning.