France orders evacuation of entire Cap Ferret peninsula as wildfire spreads
France cleared the entire Cap Ferret peninsula as flames near Lège-Cap-Ferret burned about 3,400 hectares and drove some evacuees out by boat.
Officials ordered the evacuation of the entire Cap Ferret peninsula as a wildfire near Lège-Cap-Ferret tore through the Gironde department, burned about 3,400 hectares around the Bay of Arcachon and forced some residents and vacationers to leave by boat. Hundreds of firefighters were deployed as the blaze spread through a stretch of France’s Atlantic coast that is normally packed with summer traffic, campsites and beach towns.
The evacuation order widened a response that had already moved people from towns and campsites along the coast. Cap Ferret sits on the edge of the Bay of Arcachon, a major summer tourist destination, and the fire turned that narrow peninsula into an escape corridor for families, seasonal workers and holidaymakers trying to get out ahead of the flames.
Local authorities put the evacuation tally at 12,000 residents and tourists in south-west France, including 7,000 moved on Thursday.
The blaze broke out amid worsening drought after a heat wave. Another wildfire on France’s Mediterranean coast on July 19 forced hamlet evacuations.
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