Thousands of people were evacuated from the suburbs of the French city of Bordeaux on this morning as forest fires continued to rage around the city in southwestern France, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Sophie Broca, prefect of the New Aquitaine region and the Gironde department, which includes the Bordeaux area, said that the municipalities of Le Aigle, Essines and Mérignac were being evacuated.
The Bordeaux region is famous for its vineyards, and the city is one of the main centers for tourist travel to nearby Atlantic coastal resorts.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said that more than 141,000 people were evacuated from the Gironde and Landes regions, near Bordeaux. Drivers were also advised to avoid the region due to the raging fires.
“The fires that have engulfed our country have reached unprecedented proportions”, Lecornu wrote on the social network Ex this morning.
Army units have also been sent to the scene to help fight the flames.
North of Bordeaux, smoke from forest fires has reached the department of Haute-Vienne, where local authorities have urged residents to keep their windows and doors closed.
The average temperature this month in the Aquitaine region was 32.2 degrees Celsius - 7.3 degrees above the average for July between 1961 and 1990, according to data from the Reuters climate monitor.