Hundreds of tourists were forced to pay off their hotel bills in the middle of the night and leave areas on the outskirts of Bordeaux following overnight evacuation orders.
Staff at the Holiday Inn in Mérignac, just north of Bordeaux Airport, woke guests up at 3.30am and told them smoke had been travelling over from the raging fires around 20-miles away in the Cap Ferret peninsula, reports MailOnline.
More suburbs of Bordeaux have been ordered evacuate this morning as the fire heads towards the city. Residents of Le Haillan, Eysines and Merignac – all located close to the city centre – have been told to leave the area.
The overnight evacuation orders covered Sainte-Helene, Salaune, Lanton, Audenge, Saint-Medard-en-Jalles, Saint-Aubin-de-Medoc, Saint-Jean-d’Illac and Martignas.