France Evacuates 35,000 From Cap Ferret as Wildfires Turn Holiday Haven Into Disaster Zone
Reporting based primarily on bangkokpost.com.
Wildfires raging in southwest France have forced the evacuation of more than 35,000 residents and tourists from the Cap Ferret peninsula, a popular summer destination for the wealthy and famous that has been turned into a disaster zone.
Cap Ferret Peninsula Declared Disaster Zone
Famous as a summer getaway for the likes of French actors Marion Cotillard and Jean Dujardin, the Cap Ferret peninsula has turned into a disaster zone due to wildfires, with more than 35,000 people evacuated by road and sea. [1] “It’s a disaster, it’s horrible,” Jean Goncalves told AFP early Friday morning, a T-shirt tied around his face. [1] The 54-year-old, who has lived in Lege-Cap-Ferret for 30 years, fled his home after watching his neighbour’s wooden house catch fire. [1] The streets were deserted, metal shutters drawn and houses closed up, as wildfires drove residents and tourists away during the peak summer season. [1] “There’s not a soul around,” Cecile Maumy said at the Cap-Ferret ferry terminal. [1] “It feels like the Covid period. It’s unbelievable.” [1] Residents have described scenes like a “war-zone”. [1] No fatalities have been reported, but more than 50 homes have been destroyed, along with a campsite. [1] Faced with the advancing flames, officials ordered the evacuation of the entire peninsula and its 40,000 summer residents. [1] Most people have left by car through the peninsula’s single road, while hundreds were also ferried out by boats. [1] Some people have been evacuated to the seaside town of Andernos. [1] Maria Lalanne, a 90-year-old resident of Lege-Cap-Ferret with no family, was still in shock. [1] She left her hearing aid and glasses behind at home. [1] “I have heart disease, blood pressure issues, eye problems. I don’t know how long this will last. I don’t know what has happened to my house,” she said. [1] In Andernos, authorities are now preparing for a possible evacuation of the town itself. [1] “We are welcoming people from the peninsula who have been evacuated to our reception centres, and now we have been instructed to evacuate those centres as well,” said Jean-Francois Garric, the town’s deputy mayor. [1] Evacuee Julie Boisvert had been staying in the village of Le Porge when her family was forced to leave. [1] She said she had begun to feel “surrounded” by the advancing flames. [1] “The gendarmes knocked on every door,” said Boisvert, adding they left by car with their two children, aged five and two. [1] “We had already packed suitcases just in case, but they gave us only two minutes and carefully checked that nobody was still inside the house,” she said. [1]
Rapid Spread From Saumos and Official Response
The wildfire broke out on Wednesday in the village of Saumos close to the renowned Medoc vineyards. [1] Moving rapidly through dense pine forests, the blaze spread to the Cap-Ferret peninsula, a popular tourist destination on the Atlantic coast long favoured by wealthy French families and known for sand dunes and oyster shacks. [1] The regional prefect Sophie Brocas called the blaze an “XXL wildfire, unpredictable and voracious”. [1] Many French A-listers, drawn to the understated charm of Cap-Ferret over the glitz of the French Riviera, spend their vacations there or own homes on the peninsula. [1] Faced with the advancing flames, officials ordered the evacuation of the entire peninsula and its 40,000 summer residents. [1] Most people have left by car through the peninsula’s single road, while hundreds were also ferried out by boats as part of the evacuation plan, the first time it has been activated after it was put together following devastating fires in the region in 2022. [1] “Everything was handled smoothly,” said David Lafforgue, a Cap-Ferret shopkeeper and local elected official. [1] “Suitcases were ready, and people remained calm.” [1] But he said he was worried about what comes next. [1] “Economically, it’s catastrophic,” he said. [1] “We go from everything to nothing. July 20 to August 20 is the peak of our season. We don’t know whether our seasonal workers will come back or whether our customers will return.” [1]
Broader French Heatwave and Climate Context
France has been battered by three heatwaves since May, part of increasingly frequent extreme weather episodes linked to climate change, causing thousands of excess deaths, drying up rivers and fuelling wildfires. [1] The wildfire broke out on Wednesday in the village of Saumos close to the renowned Medoc vineyards. [1] Moving rapidly through dense pine forests, the blaze spread to the Cap-Ferret peninsula. [1] No fatalities have been reported from this blaze. [1]
Separate Fire Forces 18,000 More Evacuations
Firefighters were also battling another major fire near the town of Biscarrosse, southwest of Bordeaux. [1] The fire, which broke out Thursday, forced the evacuation of 18,000 people, said Gilles Clavreul, the prefect of Landes. [1] “We have never experienced anything like this,” he said. [1] The regional prefect Sophie Brocas called the Cap Ferret blaze an “XXL wildfire, unpredictable and voracious”. [1]
U.S. Fire Weather Alerts Issued Nationwide
The National Weather Service in Pocatello has issued a Red Flag Warning for scattered thunderstorms, which is in effect from 1 PM this afternoon to 9 PM MDT this evening for Fire Weather Zone 427 Goose Creek and Raft River Valley/Southern Sawtooth NF/Twin Falls BLM south of the Snake River. [2] The National Weather Service in Spokane has issued a Red Flag Warning for wind and low relative humidity, which is in effect from 11 AM to 10 PM PDT Saturday for portions of central Washington including the Western Columbia Basin. [5] A separate Red Flag Warning is in effect from noon Saturday to midnight MDT Saturday night due to dry lightning for the Northern Black Hills, central Black Hills, southern Black Hills, Fall River County area, northern foot hills, eastern foot hills, Custer County plains, Pine Ridge area, Butte County area, Perkins County, west central plains, Ziebach County, Haakon County area, Badlands area, Bennett County area, northern Campbell, southern Campbell, Crook County plains, Weston County plains, and Wyoming Black Hills. [4]
Flood Warning in Georgia
The National Weather Service in Peachtree City GA has issued a Flood Warning for Suwanee Creek at Suwanee affecting Gwinnett County. [3] Minor flooding is forecast until late tonight. [3] At 9.0 feet, minor flooding expands along the creek upstream and downstream from the gage at U S Highway 23 or Buford Highway, and most of the Suwanee Creek Greenway and trails are flooded from the Suwanee Creek Park. [3]
What to watch next: Authorities in Andernos are preparing for a possible evacuation of reception centres now housing evacuees from the peninsula, while Red Flag Warnings remain in effect through Saturday night in multiple western and northwestern U.S. zones and the Flood Warning for Suwanee Creek continues until late tonight.
