Paris, July 25 (EFE).- Nearly 98,000 hectares have burned in France so far this year, marking a historic record, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said on Saturday, as firefighters battled a massive wildfire near Bordeaux that has triggered what authorities believe is the country’s largest-ever wildfire evacuation operation.
«To date, nearly 98,000 hectares have burned, largely because of the rapid spread of the Gironde wildfire, representing a historic record,» Nuñez told a press conference.
The minister said the evacuation of around 167,000 people from the Gironde fire, which began near the Bay of Arcachon, together with the evacuation of another 30,000 residents in the neighboring Landes department due to the Biscarrosse wildfire, is likely the largest wildfire evacuation operation in French history.
As the blaze continued advancing toward Bordeaux, authorities on Saturday ordered the precautionary evacuation of seven municipalities: Le Haillan, Eysines, Mérignac, Saint-Médard-en-Jalles, Saint-Jean-d’Illac, Martignas-sur-Jalle and Saint-Aubin-de-Médoc.
Mérignac is home to Bordeaux Airport, while Saint-Médard-en-Jalles hosts a Seveso-classified industrial facility jointly operated by ArianeGroup and Roxel, which manufacture oxidizers for the European Ariane rocket and propellants for missiles and rockets. Authorities said additional protection had been deployed around such industrial sites.
