French authorities ordered fresh evacuations of towns near Bordeaux on July 25, 2026, as a wildfire called the Saumos fire kept spreading across the Gironde area. The new orders come after three days of rapid growth that has burned more than 10,000 hectares — an area bigger than the city of Paris — and forced more than 10,000 residents to leave their homes. France24 Reuters

The fire started on July 22 in a thick pine forest near the village of Saumos, about 40 kilometers west of Bordeaux. It spread fast from the start, burning more than 800 hectares on its first day alone. The fire moved toward the town of Le Porge and became extremely intense when it reached the edges of Lège, where the forest meets neighborhoods and homes. France24 gironde.gouv.fr

By July 23, the fire had burned 2,000 hectares and forced more than 10,000 people to evacuate overnight as it kept spreading. French President Emmanuel Macron called the wildfire "unprecedented" and sent in the military to help. The fire now threatens the Cap-Ferret peninsula, a densely populated strip of land along the coast. France24 Reuters

Local authorities have been managing the crisis by posting regular updates on their official website, tracking the fire from July 22 through July 24. As the fire moved into new areas, officials used a system called FR-Alert, which sends emergency messages directly to people's mobile phones, to order evacuations in threatened towns. gironde.gouv.fr

The fire's growth from 800 hectares on day one to over 10,000 by day three is extreme. One key reason is the type of forest burning. The Landes pine forest along this part of the Atlantic coast is a planted forest, grown for resin and timber. Because it is mostly one kind of tree planted close together, the whole forest burns at a similar, intense rate when it is dry. Think of it like a row of matchsticks packed tightly together: once one catches, the rest go up fast. That is what happened when the fire hit the edge of Lège, where the forest meets buildings that can also catch fire. France's decision to send in the military follows a standard plan for fires too large for civilian firefighters to handle alone.

The threat to the Cap-Ferret peninsula makes things harder. The peninsula is a narrow strip of land with only a few roads out, so evacuating a large number of people quickly is a serious challenge. The FR-Alert phone system helps by letting officials send evacuation orders in stages, moving people out before the fire arrives.

What this means in practical terms is that the fire is likely not under control yet. The fact that authorities ordered new evacuations on July 25 suggests the fire is still growing. The shift from reacting to fires already burning to evacuating people ahead of time shows that officials expect the fire to keep spreading, driven by dry conditions in the region.