France sends boats to evacuate tourist hotspot Cap Ferret as wildfires rage

Key Points:

• French authorities ordered a full evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula due to rapidly spreading wildfires, with boats deployed to assist in evacuating residents and tourists from the area west of Bordeaux.
• Approximately 40,000 people have been evacuated from Cap Ferret, with only a few hundred transported by sea; the peninsula’s single road connection to the mainland heightened urgency to prevent people from being trapped.
• The wildfires, fueled by record-breaking heatwaves linked to climate change, have destroyed 53 homes and a campsite, with 1,000 firefighters battling the flames as the fire expanded by up to 1,000 hectares per hour overnight.
• Additional wildfires near Biscarrosse have forced the evacuation of 23,000 people, while European Union countries are sending firefighting aircraft and helicopters to assist France in combating the fires.
• Spain is also experiencing severe wildfires, prompting a national emergency declaration and the evacuation of over 10,000 people near Madrid, with residents describing the situation as unprecedented and out of control.