Thousands of tourists evacuated as wildfire spreads near Bordeaux

DPAWed, July 22, 2026 at 11:18 PM UTC1 min readAdd Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.

Thousands of tourists were evacuated as a precaution near Bordeaux on France's Atlantic coast due to a wildfire, local authorities said on Wednesday evening.

The fire, which broke out in the village of Saumos in the morning, had spread across 800 hectares, the prefecture in Bordeaux said.

Around 500 firefighters, four firefighting aircraft and 150 emergency vehicles were deployed amid extremely unfavourable weather conditions. No injuries have been reported so far.

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The prefect of the Gironde department ordered extensive evacuations in the afternoon.

Around 700 residents were told to leave two districts of Le Porge, while the La Grigne campsite, where about 3,500 holidaymakers were staying, was cleared.

Those affected were directed to the nearby resort of Lacanau.

A beach in Le Porge, where around 600 vehicles were located, was also evacuated.

Gironde remains under the highest red-level wildfire alert, with authorities urging residents to follow official instructions and exercise extreme caution.

Two firefighters were killed on Tuesday in a separate blaze at Bordeaux airport after their vehicle was trapped by flames.