France orders total evacuation of Cap Ferret peninsula as wildfire spreads
Authorities have ordered a total evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula in France due to an unpredictable and rapidly spreading wildfire. Thousands of residents and tourists are being moved by land and sea as firefighters struggle to contain the blaze amidst extreme heat.
Why it matters
Highlights the increasing frequency of climate-driven extreme weather events and their impact on populated tourist regions.
1:12 Thousands evacuated in south of France as wildfire rages across pine forest – video France France orders total evacuation of Cap Ferret peninsula as wildfire spreads ‘Intense and highly unpredictable’ blaze forces more than 40,000 people to flee popular holiday spot
Prefer the Guardian on Google Authorities in south-western France have ordered the total evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula on the Atlantic coast by land and sea as an “intense and highly unpredictable” wildfire advances on one of the country’s best-known holiday spots.
The fire had burned more than 10,000 hectares (24,700 acres) by Friday morning, the French interior minister, Laurent Nuñez, said, with 40,000 people already or about to be evacuated, including thousands of tourists from campsites and rental homes.
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