MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th July, 2022) A total of 10,000 have been evacuated due to two large forest fires that are raging in the French department of Gironde in the southwestern part of the country, French media reported.
According to BFMTV broadcaster, the forest fires have began on Tuesday caused by a heatwave in France and engulfed over 5,300 hectares of a pine forest near the communes Landiras and La Teste-de-Buch. In Landiras the fire service managed to stabilize the fire, while in La Teste-de-Buch the situation has become critical, as the fire continues to grow and is getting out of control.
Some 6,000 people were evacuated from five campsites near the dune of Pilat on Tuesday night and another 4,000 people from the village of Cazaux on Thursday, the broadcaster reported.
Earlier in the week, Gironde department authorities declared a red forest fire alert level. About 1,000 firefighters are currently struggling to contain the spread of the fire due to strong wind and difficult terrain.
