Thousands of individuals have been evacuated in the southern part of France due to forest fires ravaging coastal villages and camping grounds.

One of the biggest wildfires occurred around Sainte-Marie-La Mer, after which it raged into Canet-en-Roussillon, an area within the Pyrénées-Orientales department. Close to 1,500 people have been evacuated from three camping grounds with fire approaching their residences and tourism areas. Smoke shrouded parts of the coastline, and even boats as well as stores in a marina caught fire. An airport in Perpignan was temporarily closed.

On another account, the wildfire that occurred in neighboring departments of Aude and Hérault is still raging. The forest fire has affected about 900 hectares of land and has not been easy to control because of high wind conditions and dry vegetation. Over 800 firefighters using 150 emergency trucks and firefighting aircraft have been used.

According to French officials, thousands of firefighters have been mobilized to fight wildfires in the southern part of France.

The Prime Minister of France, Sébastien Lecornu, stated that there have been roughly 7,000 forest fires recorded since the fire season began, and about 8,700 hectares of land were affected by the fires. According to the PM, the wildfires are being experienced about two to three weeks earlier than expected due to the unusually dry period.

The wildfire happened following the prolonged heatwave experienced by the country, with temperatures soaring past 40 degrees Celsius in some regions. In combination with minimal rainfall and windy conditions, the hot weather has made the vegetation dry and prone to fires.

Firefighters are still trying to put out the blaze amid the windy conditions on Friday, according to the authorities, who added that the fire conditions are still critical and called upon people to evacuate the areas.