A fire that destroyed thousands of hectares of dead wood in south-west France has flared up again amid a severe drought and the summer’s final heatwave, officials said on Wednesday.
Another 6,000 hectares (15,000 acres) of pine forest have burned down in the so-called Landiras fire since Tuesday afternoon, forcing the evacuation of about 3,800 people,” Gironde regional officials said in a statement.
“The fire is extremely fierce and has spread to the Landes department further south,” where the Landes de Gascogne Regional Park is located, the prefecture said.
Nobody was injured in the coastal region, which attracts many tourists in the summer, but 16 houses were destroyed near the village of Belin-Beliet.
The prefecture warned the fire was spreading to the A63 motorway, a major artery connecting Bordeaux to Spain.
Speed limits on the motorway have been lowered to 90 km/h (55 mph) if smoke begins to limit visibility, and a full closure could be ordered if the fire worsens.
The Landiras fire, which ignited in July, was the largest of several to have raged across southwest France this year, which has been hit by a record drought and a series of heat waves.
Arsonists started some of the fires and officials initially suspected a criminal origin for the Landiras fire. Police later released a suspect for lack of evidence.
Around 500 firefighters are on duty, supported by water-dropping aircraft.
The Landiras fire and a second large fire near Arcachon together burned 21,000 hectares and forced more than 36,000 people to evacuate before being brought under control – but not fully extinguished.
And in western France, a forest fire near Angers and Le Mans has burned 1,200 hectares since Monday as nearly 400 firefighters struggle to contain it.
The regional firefighting coordination center said it suspects arsonists were behind some of the “unlikely flare-ups” in the fire.
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