More than 15,000 people evacuated from homes as wildfire spreads in France

Around 20,000 people were evacuated from towns and holiday resorts in southwestern France as a wildfire raged near the popular tourist coastal town of Lege Cap-Ferret. 

Local authorities said the fire has spread over more than 2,400 hectares (5,900 acres), though no injuries have been reported.

Authorities in the Gironde region, which borders the Atlantic Ocean, said that some 700 firefighters have been deployed to tackle the flames, including forces from the Paris region, and bring the fire under control, as "the situation remains unfavourable".

Many of the 10,000 people who were told to leave as a precautionary measure were tourists staying at holiday camps in the area, which is located around 30 miles west of Bordeaux.

In addition, more than 1,000 residents living in residential areas along the forest edge have also been evacuated from the area.

Sophie Brocas, the prefect of the surrounding Gironde region, said authorities later evacuated 8,800 people from the village of Claouey, including residents staying at several campsites, as a precautionary measure.

Several municipalities have opened reception and respite centres for evacuees, with more than 2,500 people taking shelter there, the local government said.

Southern Europe has seen multiple large fires this summer.

Scientists warn that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness, making the region more vulnerable to wildfires.

Following a succession of heat waves that began before summer, wildfires have raged across France in recent weeks, including near Paris.

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Other countries have also been hit hard.

Spain has already suffered 22 major forest fires so far this year - with firefighters dealing with one of the country's largest blazes on record in recent days in Guadalajara.

The fire in rural Guadalajara - which has burned over 32,000 hectares (79,000 acres) comes less than two weeks after a deadly blaze devastated a small expat community in southern Spain.

That small but extremely virulent fire killed 13 people, including seven Britons, in one of the southern European country's deadliest wildfires.

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