An Irish family has been evacuated from their campsite in southern France after wildfires, fuelled by strong winds, swept through parts of the country’s Mediterranean coast.<\/p>\n
Michael Cleary and his family were forced to leave the Le Brasilia campsite in Canet-en-Roussillon, near the Spanish border.<\/p>\n
In a post on X, Mr Cleary said their holiday cabin was destroyed by the fire, along with all of their belongings.<\/p>\n
The family had only arrived at Carcassonne Airport yesterday morning to begin their holiday but have now returned to Dublin.<\/p>\n
Mr Cleary also shared a video on X showing people evacuated on a nearby beach as plumes of smoke billow in the background.<\/p>\n
In the social media post, Mr Cleary wrote: “Kids devastated but we’re OK. Scary hearing all the explosions (presumably gas cylinders) caused by the fire. The winds yesterday were very significant and really hampered the firefighters.”<\/p>\n
Around 2,000 firefighters battled several wildfires across France’s Mediterranean coast yesterday as strong winds and tinder-dry conditions, following Europe’s recent heatwave, fuelled the blazes.<\/p>\n
Local authorities said 1,500 people were evacuated from campsites in the area, while the nearby airport in Perpignan was forced to close.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the day, firefighters brought two fires on the outskirts of Marseille, France’s second-largest city, under control but continued to battle a larger blaze in the Aude department.<\/p>\n