About four hundred campers had to leave a camping site in southern France on Wednesday night due to a forest fire. Also among the evacuees are Dutch, including families with children.
Vacationers had to leave the camp site in Gorges du Verdon due to the approaching forest fire, which has already burned more than 350 hectares. They are taken care of in the neighboring villages. Holiday makers can visit the gym or book a hotel in the area.
An eyewitness told NU.nl that the fire had been visible from the camp site since Tuesday. The fire was still far away in the hills, but that could change quickly due to the wind. For this reason, as a precaution, it was decided on Wednesday evening to evacuate part of the camp site.
The fire brigade is engaged in firefighting work with hundreds of employees. This is made more difficult because the fire is spreading over hard-to-reach ground. According to the eyewitness, there is no panic among vacationers. They hope to be able to return to the camp site on Thursday.
Because of the extreme temperatures and drought, many regions of France suffer from wildfires. Several campsites near Bordeaux were evacuated due to large wildfires that were only brought under control after about two weeks. The fire service spoke of an “exceptional crisis.”
Maybe some fires were lit. A man was arrested in southern France on Wednesday on suspicion of starting forest fires several times since May.
