More than 10,000 people were evacuated overnight in south-western France due to a rapidly spreading forest fire west of Bordeaux. According to the authorities, the fire has burnt 2,000 hectares. Five hundred firefighters are battling the blaze; there are no reports of casualties at present.
Briefly about the main points
- A fire has engulfed 2,000 hectares west of Bordeaux.
- More than 10,000 people were evacuated from the danger zone during the night.
- 500 firefighters are involved in the fire-fighting operation.
- Many of those evacuated are tourists from campsites.
- The authorities have not reported any casualties.
The fire was moving towards the tourist coast
The fire is centred near Somas, in the Landes-de-Gascogne forest. According to French media and local authorities, the fire spread from Somas via Le Porge towards Arès and Lesge-Cap-Ferret – reaching the northern part of Arcachon Bay.
The Arcachon Bay is a popular tourist destination. That is why many of those evacuated were holidaymakers staying at campsites. In addition, the authorities have evacuated six campsites and a naturist holiday complex north of Cap Ferret.
Firefighters are trying to contain the rapid spread
The prefecture has described the fire as extremely challenging. There are 500 firefighters at the scene, working to bring the blaze under control.
The authorities have not established the cause of the fire. There is also no confirmed information regarding damage to buildings or infrastructure, road closures or when those who have been evacuated will be able to return.
The heat and dry ground have increased the risk of fire
Even before the fire broke out, a red forest fire alert had been issued in the Le Porge area. This involved, amongst other things, the closure of cycle paths within the woodland and restrictions on traffic on forest roads.
According to Météo-France, on 22 July, soil moisture levels in France were exceptionally low for this time of year — lower than on the corresponding dates in 1976, 2022 and 2025. The country has already experienced an intense 14-day heatwave in June, and the next one began on 4 July. Such conditions may have contributed to the rapid spread of the fire, but do not explain the cause of this particular blaze.
The European Commission had previously reported that the area of land burnt in Europe this year had already exceeded the average for the period 2006–2025. In France, according to EFFIS data, more than 42,000 hectares had been burnt by mid-July.
The region remembers the fires of 2022
The current fire has broken out in the same high-risk corridor in Gironde that was hit by large-scale blazes in the summer of 2022. At that time, over 30,000 hectares were burnt in the department, and nearly 50,000 people were evacuated as a precaution; the fires affected, in particular, Somas and Arès.
The current outbreak is smaller in scale than that crisis as a whole, but it has occurred against a backdrop of a record area of burnt land across the country for mid-July. This points to an early and intense fire season in France, particularly in areas with dry pine forests and high summer tourist numbers.
