France wildfire forces 500 people to evacuate

A wildfire in southwestern France has forced more than 500 people to evacuate and burned 1,100 hectares in the Landes department, officials said Friday.

About 500 firefighters have been deployed after the fire broke out on Thursday while much of France was in another heatwave.

Prefect Gilles Clavreul said the next 15 hours would be decisive. Fire chief Arnaud Fabre said the fire was slowing but warned of possible flare-ups as temperatures were expected to reach 36C later Friday.

Around midnight, flames were only a few hundred metres from Luglon, a village in the pine forest of the Landes de Gascogne nature park. Officials said no homes had been destroyed.

Southwestern France has faced a series of wildfires this summer, including a major blaze in Gironde, as heatwaves worsened dry conditions.