Stranded tourists flee for their lives by boat as 'apocalyptic mega-fire' triggers total evacuation of 'French Hamptons'

Thousands of tourists were forced to flee seaside resorts by boat as officials declared the total evacuation of an upmarket area known as the 'Hamptons of France' after it was engulfed by a huge wildfire. Flames fanned by scorching temperatures have been sweeping through parts of Western Europe this week, prompting France to seek help from the European Union and triggering a state of emergency in the Spanish capital. The order for a total evacuation of the area of Lege-Cap Ferret in southwestern France, a tourist hotspot often likened to the Hamptons, underlines the severity of the fire that has been burning since Wednesday. French President Emmanuel Macron said he had requested help from the European Union as the country's battle against wildfires intensifies. 'France has requested the activation of the European Union's civil protection mechanism. We will soon be able to count on reinforcements from two Croatian Canadair aircraft, two Portuguese Air Tractor planes, as well as two heavy Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia,' wrote Macron on X on Friday. Sophie Brocas, the prefect for the Nouvelle Aquitaine region, said on Friday that evacuees from the Lege-Cap Ferret peninsula could leave from piers in four villages in the area between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. local time. All those still present in those villages must leave either on the boats or by the only road linking the area with the mainland, she added.Images showed scores of residents and tourists boarding boats this morning as they evacuated the area.Patrick Martineau, a 69-year-old resident of Le Porge, south of Bordeaux, said, 'The gendarmes came and knocked on every door, the fire was about 500 metres away - we grabbed some things and left.'Footage taken in the south-western town of Biscarosse captured scenes of chaos, showing several cars rushing down roads to get away from nearing flames. The blaze was described as a 'mega-fire' and 'apocalytpic' in French social media posts. A firefighter responds to a wildfire in Lege-Cap-Ferret in the Gironde department amid worsening drought conditions following a heatwave and water shortages across much of France, July 23, 2026 Holidaymakers from Lege-Cap-Ferret disembark from a boat upon their arrival in Arcachon during an evacuation operation of the entire Cap-Ferret peninsula, in southwestern France, on July 24, 2026 whilst a wildfire is spreading across the area French President Emmanuel Macron said he had requested help from the European Union as the country's battle against wildfires intensifiesA separate video showed horses frantically running down a street as a huge black cloud of smoke engulfed the town. France's southeast was also being hard hit, with dozens of fires flaring up and being fanned by the Mistral wind around the historic village of Cotignac - officials saying around 25 houses had been destroyed since Tuesday. Two firefighters died on Tuesday tackling another blaze near Bordeaux airport.Skies over Le Porge turned orange as smoke rose from charred and crackling pine trees, while helicopters made repeated runs over deserted neighbourhoods.Fires in 2022 damaged a massive area of the same forest, forcing around 50,000 people to flee.The authorities said the fire had been contained on its northerly flank but was not yet totally under control further south.EU crisis management commissioner Hadja Lahbib said Thursday that the bloc was providing three water-bombing planes to France. In Spain, the government declared a state of emergency in the Madrid region, where more than 10,000 people have been evacuated in recent days. A volunteer gives indication to holidaymakers from Lege-Cap-Ferret upon their arrival in Arcachon by boat during an evacuation operation of the entire Cap-Ferret peninsula The order for a total evacuation of the area of Lege-Cap Ferret underlined the severity of the fire that has been burning since WednesdayView of a wildfire in the Fox-Amphoux communal forest near Ponteves in the Var department A French Civil Security Canadair CL-415 aircraft sprays water on a forest surrounding Cotignac, southeastern France on July 23, 2026 during a wildfire This picture shows people on the beach in Andernos-Les Bains during fire in Lege Cap-Ferret forest, southwestern France on July 23, 2026, as part of the nearby area has been evacuated A firefighter sprays water on a burning forest close to a residential area during a wildfire near Lege-Cap-Ferret Smoke billows from a wildfire following a heatwave and water shortages across much of the country, in Biscarrosse, France Firefighting aircraft and helicopters battle a wildfire that broke out near the town of Cotignac in southern France Beach goers sit under umbrellas on the Lacanau Lake beach as a cloud of smoke rises into the sky from a wildfire in Le Porge A firefighter uses a hose to spray water on a burning building of a residential area during a wildfire near Lege Cap FerretEmergency services said alert messages had been sent to people in Aldea de Fresno, a town west of Madrid, ordering them to leave.Eighteen firefighting units with specialist troops were working to contain the blaze near the city of Toledo, close to another wildfire that forced the evacuation of several villages on Wednesday.Firefighters battled through the night, and most residents were allowed to return Thursday.Hundreds of firefighters and troops were still struggling to contain a much larger wildfire in Guadalajara province, north of Madrid.'Climate change is what kills, what destroys our villages and our natural and cultural heritage,' civil protection chief Virginia Barcones told Spanish radio.She warned some fires become so intense that, despite the deployment of aircraft and ground crews, firefighters stand 'no chance'.Barcones said conditions at the Guadalajara blaze were improving but that strong winds and extreme heat remained a danger.Thousands of emergency workers in Italy battled scores of fires in Sicily and in the Calabria region, where a local official said arsonists had started fires by tying rags soaked in flammable liquid to the tails of stray cats to spread the flames.Along with the stray cats, investigators found candles and delayed ignition devicesDomenico Costarella, of Calabria's civil protection agency, said: 'These animals were released into the fields, running around and spreading the fire.'He added that fighting arson would take a 'shift in mindset… These are inhumane acts. Sadly, men are their own worst enemies'.One firefighter died after falling ill while battling the flames in Sicily, the interior minister said. Across Europe, three heatwaves in succession this season have intensified drought, strained water supplies, and left vegetation tinder-dry, helping wildfires scorch more land than the annual average over the past two decades. Firefighters respond to a wildfire in Lege-Cap-Ferret in the Gironde department amid worsening drought conditions More than 400 emergency camp beds are set up inside Bordeaux Exhibition Centre Firefighters drive around a burning forest while monitoring a wildfire close to a residential area near Lege-Cap-Ferret Holidaymakers from Lege-Cap-Ferret carry their belongings along the pier upon their arrival in Arcachon during an evacuation operation This screen grab from a video posted on the X account of Spain's Military Emergencies Unit UME (@UMEgob) on July 23, 2026, shows UME personnel fighting a wildfire in San Martin de Valdeiglesias, Madrid The Spanish government declared a state of emergency in the Madrid region, where more than 10,000 people have been evacuated in recent days Hundreds of firefighters and troops were still struggling to contain a much larger wildfire in Guadalajara province, north of MadridThe heat has also been blamed for thousands of deaths. France has been particularly hard hit, with the intense heat pressuring its capacity to handle the situation. 'Our security forces are engaged in a genuine battle against the wildfires,' Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Thursday evening. 'The nation stands with you.' The pressure on fire departments in southwestern France has been increased by another wildfire that began on Thursday afternoon near Biscarosse, just 25 miles south of Cap Ferret. That fire, which is still not under control, has devastated 2,500 hectares, the prefect for the Landes area, Gilles Clavreul, said in a statement. 'Winds are blowing, and the situation remains highly dynamic and unfavourable,' he said. More than 23,000 people were evacuated from the Biscarosse district, mainly in campsites and homes, and a children's summer camp and a residential care home for the elderly were also evacuated. He asked farmers to contribute with water tanks.European droughts are now more severe, climatologists from the World Weather Attribution group said in a study published on Thursday.The total area of land burnt so far this year in EU countries is the second largest on record, according to satellite data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).