French Riviera – The South of France Hit by Wildfires

The South of France, more exactly, the French Riviera, has been hit by wildfires which lead to the evacuation of the area

Parts of the French Riviera have been hit by wildfires, which lead to the immediate evacuation of the area. The fires burned so wildly that thousands of people were in danger.

More than 10,000 residents and tourists were evacuated as soon as the forest fire started, close to the commune of Bormes-les-Mimosas, (40 km from Toulon).

Those who were peacefully sunbathing on a beach near Saint-Tropez looked on as a wildfire raged not too far away from them. During this entire time, children were playing on the beach, whilst adults were taking pictures with their phones, as flames captured pine trees and sent black smoke into the atmosphere.

The cause of the fire is said to be a combination of strong Mistral winds and the lack of rain.

Pictures shared by tourists on social media capture firefighting planes flying over sandy beaches and pink sunsets, with a natural contrast created by smoke clouds.

Among those who were evacuated were also around 3,000 campers from Bormes, La Londe and La Lavandou.

Science writer Olivier Hertel shared a dramatic, intense picture of people sleeping on the beach at Cap Benat, while smoke rose in the distance.

More than 100 firefighting operations were launched since the first signal of a possible fire was sent out, with planes flying over the Bormes area, dropping water bombs on the wildfires.

Matthieu Dany, a French designer who comes to this area from since he was a child, says that he has never seen fires like this.

“From our villa in the mountains we can see smoke everywhere. We can see homes burning,” Dany told CNN. “I was on the beach earlier, but came back because the fires were getting worse.”