France has battled with raging fires this summer and on Tuesday, another fore fire broke out in Gironde, in the south of Bordeaux. The fire has already burnt 6,200 hectares, but on Wednesday evening, the fire continued spreading, including into the neighbouring region Landes, despite the efforts of firefights. Some 10,000 people have been evacuated as a precaution.
Local authorities spoke of a "fight" against the fire, which "continues to surprise" at a press conference on Wednesday.
"It's like we're dealing with a monster that has brains and behaves tactically," a spokesperson told France's Sud Ouest about the fire.
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said on Wednesday that he believes the fire was started by criminals. The area was affected by a massive forest fire in July in which 21,000 hectares of the forest went up in flames and 37,000 people were evacuated.
On Wednesday, the A63 highway, which connects Bordeaux to the Spanish border at Hendaye, was closed due to the forest fire.
In Belgium
While France has been plagued by fires since the holiday season began, fires are now picking up in Belgium. Three fires broke out in the regions of Luxembourg, Charlerou and Verviers.
Firefighters were deployed between the villages of Cobreville and Winville after a fire started on Tuesday and was still being extinguished on Wednesday.
The origin of the fire is still unknown, although firefighters did not notice anything suspicious. The Ardennes police force is still investigating the cause of the fire.
Moreover, a fire broke out on Wednesday by the Gileppe dam, which burnt 1,500 m² of vegetation, which was traced to a source of barbeque. Fires also started on Wednesday at the Cazier forest.
The governors of several regions (Luxembourg, Liège, Hainaut, Namur) have forbidden lighting fires until further notice.
