Wildfire near Luglon scorches roughly 1,600 hectares; 650 evacuated

A fast-moving wildfire has burned large swathes of pine forest near Luglon in the Landes region of southwestern France, forcing precautionary evacuations and mobilizing hundreds of firefighters.

Local authorities say the fire, which broke out on Thursday, has so far affected about 1,600 hectares of woodland and scrub and prompted the evacuation of 650 people. Luglon lies roughly 100 kilometres south of Bordeaux in the middle of an extensive coastal pine forest; officials reported that no houses have so far been engulfed by flames.

Firefighting reinforcements and heavy-lift helicopter deployed

About 550 firefighters have been deployed to fight the blaze, supported by Canadian aircraft and a heavy transport Chinook CH-47D helicopter loaned by Australia. The twin-rotor helicopter can carry up to 11,300 litres of water, almost twice as much as a Canadair.

There are differing tallies circulating: some posts reported that "approximately 500 firefighters have been mobilized" and that "authorities evacuated 525 people" after the blaze burned around 1,100 hectares in less than 24 hours. Officials' and informal online counts have varied as the situation develops.

The current fire follows other large blazes in the same area in recent weeks: at the end of July about 3,700 hectares burned near Biscarrosse in Landes, and roughly 42,000 hectares burned near Saumos in neighbouring Gironde. Heatwave conditions and prolonged drought along the Atlantic coast have contributed to a high risk of new outbreaks, forcing tens of thousands of tourists and residents to leave threatened areas in recent weeks.

Authorities continue to battle the flames and carry out evacuations as needed; rescue services say containment and full assessments of damage are ongoing.

Photo: Printskrin