PARIS, July 24 (Xinhua) -- A major wildfire in the southwestern French department of Gironde has burned 14,000 hectares and forced the evacuation of more than 110,000 people, French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Friday evening.
Speaking on French television channel TF1, Nunez described the blaze as an "unprecedented" event, saying it has far exceeded the scale of the 2023 wildfire. He also announced that Bordeaux Airport has been closed and that military resources will be deployed to reinforce firefighting operations.
The wildfire, which broke out on Tuesday near the Arcachon Bay in Gironde, has continued to spread amid strong winds and dry conditions.
Earlier on Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron said France had requested the activation of the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism as wildfires continued to spread across the country.
In a post on social media platform X, Macron said the wildfire situation remained under very high tension, particularly in Gironde, adding that France would soon receive aerial firefighting assistance from Croatia, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
France has been battling 32 active wildfires, while more than 50,000 hectares have been burned nationwide since the beginning of the year, French daily Le Figaro reported on Friday, citing Nunez.
