Earlier on Friday, the entirety of the Cap Ferret peninsula on France’s south-west coast was ordered to be evacuated due to ongoing fires in the Gironde region, with local prefect Sophie Broca calling the blaze an “XXL fire”.
Fire and rescue chief Marc Vermeulen said the wildfire on the peninsula had spread rapidly at the end of Thursday and into the early hours of Friday.
French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said 40,000 people had either been or were in the process of being evacuated from the peninsula.
Further down the coast, near the town of Biscarrosse in the Landes region of France, another major fire began on Thursday afternoon.
Landes prefect Gilles Clavreul said the fire was not going to be out by the end of Friday, with winds of up to 50km/h (31mph) and temperatures of 36-37C.
About 18,000 people in Biscarrosse and 5,000 in Parentis-en-Born had to leave their homes, campsites, a nursing home and a summer camp.
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