Fires destroy forests and evacuate thousands in France
ARK News... Renewed fires in southwest France, in the Gironde, which saw a massive fire in July, have destroyed 6,000 hectares of pine forests since Tuesday afternoon, and thousands of people have been evacuated.
The local police command said in a statement that "the fire is very raging and has spread to Land County (south). Residents of the municipalities of Houston, St. Magen, and sections of Belen-Beliers have been evacuated," the equivalent of about 3,800 people.
These towns are located in the heart of the forests of the Landes de Gasconieux in the south of the French Atlantic coast.
The fire also destroyed 16 homes in several areas of Beilin-Bellier county, where an evacuation of about 2,000 people was underway. "No injuries were recorded," the police command said. According to France Press Agency.
There are about 500 firefighters on site, backed by Civil Security water launchers.
The police command also stated that "the fire is heading towards the A63 motorway (the motorway in the southwest direction towards Bayonne-Bordeaux)".
"The motorway operator does not see any obstacle to the view, but at the moment the speed has been reduced to 90 km / h and limited to two out of three lanes in the Bayonne-Bordeaux direction." The highway may be cut off depending on the development of the fire, according to the source.
Overnight, the police command of neighboring Land County announced that the blaze in Gironde "extended unfavorably to reach the county", leading to the evacuation of 215 people in the north of the county.
In mid-July, the Gironde experienced two "unusual" fires, one in Landeras, 40 kilometers south of Bordeaux, and the other in Teste-du-Buc in the Arcachon tourist basin, destroying 20,800 hectares of forest and requiring the evacuation of more than 36,000 people.
The fire in the Arcachon Basin, near Yon-de-Bella, was brought under control on July 29, but the Landeras blaze, still under the watch of firefighters, was only put out in July.
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