The fire in the south of France is spreading rapidly and is already only 15 kilometers from Bordeaux

BarcelonaFrance's worst fire, the one in southwestern Bordeaux, continues to burn uncontrollably. This Sunday morning, the flames had already devoured 42,000 hectares — practically 10,000 more than yesterday's toll — and forced the evacuation of nearly 20,000 people during the night. Thus, the number of displaced people exceeds 220,000 since Wednesday, when it started.

The fire has continued to advance towards the city of Bordeaux and is now only 15 kilometers from the capital of Gironde, as reported by the mayor, Thomas Cazenave, while this Friday it was still more than double that distance, about thirty kilometers. Authorities have blocked the A63 motorway, which connects to Spain, and suspended rail traffic south of Bordeaux.

The regional government has attributed the "rapid spread of the fire" tonight to strong winds and a large volume of dry vegetation, in a statement. Furthermore, the flames have also caused the formation of pyrocumulus clouds, a type of fire clouds caused by very localized natural heat sources, which increase the unpredictability of the fire.

The Bordeaux fire began to burn on Wednesday in the Arcachon basin, one of the main tourist areas on the Atlantic coast: it hosts some luxury villas and is currently full of tourists who have settled there for their summer holidays. 

A "historic record" of fires in France

In the Biscarrose area, in the Landes department, a fire is also burning which has affected 3,600 hectares. There are more than 30,000 evacuees, but 3,000 were able to return home last night. In contrast, in Var the fire has flared up again and has burned about 3,250 hectares in total, which has led to the evacuation of about 2,000 people.

The French government stated this Saturday that, during this year, 98,000 hectares have been burned in the country, a figure it described as a "historic record", and that it will have risen further during the night.