More than 500 people have been evacuated from their homes after another wildfire broke out in south-west France, fanned by extreme heat and changeable winds.
Hundreds of firefighters are battling the blaze in the south-west Landes département, which has already burned 1,100 hectares, fanned by strong and changeable winds which made the fire spread rapidly.
The Landes département saw a major fire near Biscarrosse in July, the latest blaze in is the Luglon area, around 50km south of the area that burned in July.
The Luglon wildfire area, south of Bordeaux. Map: Google Maps
Overnight 525 people were evacuated from their homes, according to local authorities.
Local Préfet Gilles Clavreul told French media that “the fire’s trajectory is still quite uncertain, since it’s shifting a lot and the wind is changing constantly.”
The fire, whose cause is not yet known, “spread very quickly” on Thursday afternoon.
On Friday morning, he said that “there are two active fire zones”: 900 hectares west of Luglon and “200 hectares resulting from a fire that jumped southeast of the town.”
Several roads in the area are closed.
Road closures due to the Luglon wildfire. Map: Google Maps
Fire chief Arnaud Fabre said the fire was slowing down but he added he was concerned about potential flare-ups as the heat returns, with temperatures expected to reach 36C later Friday.
Around midnight, the flames were only a few hundred meters from Luglon, a small village that sits in the pine forest of the Landes de Gascogne nature park.
No homes have been destroyed.
On Friday morning, thick smoke blanketed the village in an opaque haze.
"We protected the houses. Everything held," a firefighter told one of the residents.
The fire is one of 21 wildfires in progress on Friday, according to the Feux de forêts app. On Thursday holidaymakers had to be evacuated from campsites in north-east France after a fire broke out.
Ongoing wildfires on the morning of Friday, August 14th. Map: Feux de Forets
The ongoing drought combined with another period of extreme heat has placed almost the whole of France on an elevated risk for wildfires. On Friday, Météo France placed four départements - Mayenne, Deux-Sevrès, Indre and Indre-et-Loire - on the highest risk level.
The wildfire risk map for Friday, August 14th. Map: Meteo France
