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Burning forest in Saint Magne south of Bordeaux
Photo: SDIS 33 / dpa
One of the great forest fires has flared up again near Bordeaux in south-west France.
The fire near Landiras is spreading rapidly and has already destroyed 6,000 hectares of forest since Tuesday afternoon, according to the authorities in the Gironde department.
More than 3800 people had to leave their homes.
The flames destroyed 16 houses in the municipality of Belin-Béliet.
Two huge forest fires had raged in the Gironde from mid-July, one in Landiras south of Bordeaux and another in Teste-de-Buch near Arcachon on the Atlantic coast.
The two fires destroyed 20,800 hectares of forest.
More than 36,000 people had to be brought to safety from the flames, including 6,000 tourists who were vacationing at campsites on the famous Pilat Dune that were later destroyed by the fire.
Under control but not deleted
The Arcachon fire was extinguished at the end of July.
The fire at Landiras was brought under control but not completely extinguished.
The fire, which has now flared up again, is "very violent" and has already spread to the neighboring Landes department, said the Gironde prefecture.
"The communities of Hostens, Saint-Magne and parts of Belin-Béliet were evacuated." All three villages are in the middle of the forest.
In Belin-Béliet alone, around 2,000 people were affected by an evacuation operation.
So far, however, no one has been injured, the prefecture said.
Around 500 firefighters were on duty.
In the middle of the night, more than 200 people had to leave their homes in small villages around the municipalities of Mano and Moustey in the Landes department.
They stayed with relatives and in emergency accommodation in the Moustey parish hall.
In Landes, however, the flames have not yet reached any residential areas, it said.
Two firefighters were injured.
The highway may be closed
The fire was also moving towards the A63 motorway from Bayonne to Bordeaux, according to the authorities.
So far, the smoke has not caused any obstruction, the Gironde prefecture said.
As a precaution, drivers are only allowed to drive 90 kilometers per hour and only use two of the three lanes.
The authority warned that the motorway could not be closed.
Forest fires are also raging in other regions of France.
A fire between Angers and Le Mans in western France has destroyed more than 1,200 hectares of forest since Monday, according to the authorities in the Maine-et-Loire department.
Around 70 people were brought to safety.
A forest fire has been raging in Romeyer in the south-eastern French department of Drôme since Friday, which has now spread to more than 280 hectares.
The forest fires in July occurred during a strong heat wave in France.
Temperatures of up to 40 degrees are expected again in the southwest of the country until Sunday, according to the French weather service Météo-France.
Experts assume that climate change is responsible for the extreme heat and drought.
lmd/AFP
