French authorities ordered the complete evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula on Friday due to raging wildfires. The evacuation is being carried out by boats from three piers on the peninsula, which is situated about 70 kilometers west of Bordeaux in southwestern France.
Wildfires in Southern France
The wildfires, fueled by record-breaking heat waves, have turned the landscape into a tinderbox. In Cap Ferret alone, 40,000 people are being evacuated, with only a few hundred being evacuated by sea. Another wildfire is also burning in the area near Biscarrosse, about 40 kilometers south of Cap Ferret, which has already forced 23,000 people to be evacuated.
Other European Union countries have sent firefighting aircraft to help France fight these wildfires following a request for assistance from the country’s president, Emmanuel Macron. The climate crisis is driving hotter, drier weather, which sets the stage for fiercer fire seasons as it parches the landscape, sucking waters from rivers, lakes, and soil.
Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.
