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An aerial view of wildfire in Le Porge, in the Gironde Department, south-western France. [Florian Plaucheur,AFP]
French authorities said Sunday that more than 220,000 people have now been evacuated from the main forest fire raging in the southwest of the country, which has also forced the closure of highways and rail lines.
More than 50,000 additional people have been ordered to leave villages around Bordeaux, which is now under threat from the flames, bringing the total evacuated from this single fire above 220,000. Tens of thousands more have been evacuated from other wildfires in France and central Spain.
Because of the spread of the flames in high winds, 60 kilometers (37 miles) of the main A63 highway from Bordeaux to the Spanish border has been closed because of the fires, regional authorities said. The SNCF rail company said it had also halted train traffic south of Bordeaux.
