On Monday evening, a wildfire swept through nearly 500 hectares (1,235 acres) of land in southern France, displacing over 2,000 people and causing damage to houses, as announced by the authorities on Tuesday.
The blaze spread across tourist spots in the Pyrenees-Orientales department along the Mediterranean coast, as confirmed by the prefecture on their official platform, previously known as Twitter.
The towns of Sorede, Saint-Andre, and Argeles-sur-Mer were among the affected areas. The prefecture explained that the fire mainly targeted tourist regions.
In response, authorities evacuated 2,000 individuals from two residential sites and four camping areas in the town of Saint-Andre, where houses and other structures suffered significant damage.
Thankfully, there were no casualties due to the fire. The prefecture emphasized this point and added that the blaze was brought under control around 3:00 a.m. (0100GMT) with the dedicated efforts of more than 650 firefighters.