Residents and tourists near Bordeaux have described chaotic scenes as one of France's most destructive wildfires in recent years forced thousands to flee with little warning, leaving homes, businesses and vast areas of forest in its path.
The wildfire, which has been burning across the Gironde region of southwestern France since 22 July, has already consumed approximately 42,000 hectares of land—an area around four times the size of Paris—and triggered one of Europe's largest evacuations in decades. French authorities said nearly 260,000 people have been displaced in the Bordeaux area alone, with additional evacuations ordered near the Atlantic coastal resort of Lacanau on 28 July as extreme heat and strong winds fuelled the blaze.
