ISTANBUL, Turkiye: Nearly 170,000 people were evacuated as the ongoing wildfire in France’s southwestern Gironde department burned more than 30,000 hectares (74,131 acres), Anadolu Ajansi reported, citing broadcaster BFMTV on Saturday.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez announced at a news briefing that a total of 167,000 people had been evacuated due to the fire, which has been raging since Wednesday in Gironde and is heading towards the Bordeaux urban area.
Nunez noted that 57,000 people were evacuated from areas around the fire overnight. He also reaffirmed that 500 soldiers had been deployed to Gironde, with another 500 expected to arrive in the coming hours.
He added that 18 aerial assets had been mobilised, including Canadair and Dash aircraft, and officially announced the first deployment of the A400M that afternoon.
Nunez further noted that just under 98,000 hectares (242,000 acres) had been burned across France as of Saturday due to the spread of the Gironde fire, calling the figure a “historic record”.
He said that around 30,000 people had been evacuated and 550 firefighters had been mobilised due to an ongoing fire in the neighbouring Landes department.
In the southeastern Var department, another ongoing fire had reportedly burned 3,250 hectares (8,030 acres) and prompted the deployment of around 1,000 firefighters.
Authorities told BFMTV that working conditions remained difficult and even “catastrophic” as swirling winds fuelled a fire that could no longer be brought under control. – BERNAMA-ANADOLU
