Fires in the south of France leave more than 60,000 evacuated and 50,000 hectares burned

Published at: 25/07/2026 09:41 AM

More than 60,000 people have been displaced from their homes and summer areas in the south of France due to the spread of forest fires that keep the authorities on alert.

The emergency device mobilizes thousands of firefighters and volunteers to contain the flames, while the Ministry of the Interior reports 32 active sources that destroy more than 50,000 hectares of vegetation cover, Telesur reported.

The hardest hit regions are New Aquitaine, with the departments of Bordeaux and Landes, and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, where extreme heat and drought aggravate the spread of fire.

The prefect of New Aquitaine described the event as a fire of unpredictable magnitude and pointed to the outbreaks of Arcachon Bay and Biscarrosse as the scariest of the summer season.

In the resort of Cap-Ferret, inside the Bay of Arcachon, the flames have consumed more than 10,000 hectares and reached the local cemetery and the Île aux Oiseaux, forcing the preventive evacuation of some 35,000 people in the last 48 hours, including the entire peninsula.

The exit operation combined alerts sent to mobile phones, patrols by the Gendarmerie and a maritime bridge with dozens of boats to transport residents and tourists.

The director of the Departmental Fire Service warned that the conditions are more serious than those in 2022, as the fire advances between 800 and a thousand hectares per hour thanks to the release of incandescent material that generates new outbreaks at high speed.

Mazo News Team