France Evacuates Thousands as Fires Rage near Bordeaux

French authorities have ordered the evacuation of thousands of people from the suburbs of Bordeaux, where wildfires in the area surrounding the city in the southwest of the country continue to rage out of control.

According to Sophie Brocas, head of the local administration for the La Nouvelle-Aquitaine et de la Gironde region, the areas of Le Haillan, Eysines and Mérignac are being evacuated.

In total, more than 141,000 people have been evacuated from the Gironde and Landes regions so far, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced.

The prime minister wrote on the social media platform X that the fires have reached an unprecedented level. The army has also been deployed to assist.

The Bordeaux region is famous for its vineyards, and the city itself is a major transportation hub for tourists heading to resorts on the Atlantic coast.

North of Bordeaux, smoke from the fires can be smelled as far away as the Haute-Vienne department, where local authorities have advised residents to keep their windows and doors closed. Motorists are advised to avoid the region if possible.

According to data from the Reuters Climate Monitor, average temperatures in the Aquitaine region this month reached 32.2C, which is 7.3C higher than the long-term average for July from 1961–1990. The heatwave and drought significantly increase the risk of wildfires spreading.

(Reuters, mja)