- 50,000 people in the suburbs have been ordered to leave, and the city council is considering extending evacuations to Bordeaux itself, a city of 270,000 residents.
- Thomas Cazenave, the mayor of Bordeaux, warned the fire was at the city’s gates and that he was preparing for all eventualities.
- The head of the Gironde firefighters union, Sébastien Berge, said The firefighters are overwhelmed and expressed concern for the city of Bordeaux.
- Authorities reported that strong winds pushed flames toward Bordeaux and the fire made rapid progress overnight.
- French interior minister Laurent Nunez said The situation remains very unfavourable and described 100,000 hectares burned as a historic record.
- The government deployed 1,500 soldiers and an A400M military aircraft capable of dropping 20 tons of fire retardant to assist firefighters near Bordeaux.
- Infrastructure closures include 40 miles of the A63 highway and train traffic halted for about 60 miles south of Bordeaux. Three men were arrested in Gironde on suspicion of endangering lives.
- A British evacuee described the scene as quite an apocalyptic scene – the sky was a burnt colour, and there was ash falling continuously.
Wildfires raging near Bordeaux, France, have led to mass evacuations of 50,000 residents, with the city itself now under threat. Mayor Thomas Cazenave warned that the fire is "at the city’s gates" and is preparing for all eventualities.123
The situation has escalated dramatically, with over 100,000 hectares burned across the country, marking a historic record. French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez described the conditions as "very unfavourable". Sébastien Berge, head of the Gironde firefighters union, stated, "The firefighters are overwhelmed" as the flames spread rapidly due to strong winds.4567
In response, the government has deployed 1,500 soldiers to assist firefighters, and military aircraft are now involved in firefighting efforts. The A63 highway, a critical route from Bordeaux to the Spanish border, has been closed for about 40 miles, and train services have been halted for approximately 60 miles south of the city.8910
Three men were arrested on suspicion of endangering lives in Gironde, where 42,000 hectares have been burned. Witnesses described the scene as "apocalyptic," with a sky filled with ash and a burnt color.
“Some 50,000 people have been ordered to leave suburbs of Bordeaux as the fire made rapid progress overnight, with the city council considering extending evacuations to the city of 270,000. The interior minister described 100,000 hectares burned as a historic record, and the government deployed 1,500 soldiers and an A400M aircraft to fight the blaze.”
