Resurgent Forest Fire Threatens Bordeaux
A blaze in a pine forest has prompted evacuations from suburbs of the famous wine city.
A forest fire raging
near the southwestern French city of Bordeaux was advancing again
Sunday afternoon after strong winds crushed firefighters' hopes of a
break in the weather.
Efforts to put out one of the country's worst fires in five years were considerably stepped up on Sunday, after fire crews had spent almost two days battling the blaze in pine plantations to the west of the Bordeaux suburb of Pessac.
The fire, which erupted Friday afternoon and spread quickly because
of strong winds, has now consumed nearly 550 hectares (1,360 acres) of
forest on the western edges of the city.
Some 500 firemen and other forces have been deployed, including reinforcements from across France, as Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve visited the firefighters' operations center on Sunday morning, according to French media reports.
Seven firefighting planes were deployed Sunday afternoon to back up efforts on the ground.
However winds at up to 50 kilometers (30 miles) per hour were fanning the flames, police official Pierre Dartout said.
"The fire has advanced again," he warned.
"It's a complicated fire," local fire chief Jean-Paul Decellieres said.
"It surges depending on the direction of the wind," he added, warning it may take several more days before the fire is put out.
The causes of the fire remain unknown though a police investigation is underway.
Much of France is experiencing a drought and several fires broke out Friday in the pine forests that dominate to the west and south of the city Bordeaux.
Most of Bordeaux's most-famous vineyards are situated mostly to the east and north of the city, but there are wineries in the area of Pessac-Léognan, including the famous Château Haut-Brion estate.
Authorities ordered the evacuation of 40 households in the town of Saint-Jean-d'Illac and 80 in the Bordeaux suburb of Pessac on Friday as a precaution. Some 80 residents of a psychiatric facility were moved to a local gym.
Efforts to put out one of the country's worst fires in five years were considerably stepped up on Sunday, after fire crews had spent almost two days battling the blaze in pine plantations to the west of the Bordeaux suburb of Pessac.
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Some 500 firemen and other forces have been deployed, including reinforcements from across France, as Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve visited the firefighters' operations center on Sunday morning, according to French media reports.
Seven firefighting planes were deployed Sunday afternoon to back up efforts on the ground.
However winds at up to 50 kilometers (30 miles) per hour were fanning the flames, police official Pierre Dartout said.
"The fire has advanced again," he warned.
"It's a complicated fire," local fire chief Jean-Paul Decellieres said.
"It surges depending on the direction of the wind," he added, warning it may take several more days before the fire is put out.
The causes of the fire remain unknown though a police investigation is underway.
Much of France is experiencing a drought and several fires broke out Friday in the pine forests that dominate to the west and south of the city Bordeaux.
Most of Bordeaux's most-famous vineyards are situated mostly to the east and north of the city, but there are wineries in the area of Pessac-Léognan, including the famous Château Haut-Brion estate.
Authorities ordered the evacuation of 40 households in the town of Saint-Jean-d'Illac and 80 in the Bordeaux suburb of Pessac on Friday as a precaution. Some 80 residents of a psychiatric facility were moved to a local gym.
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