Thousands forced to flee Riviera ahead of forest fires

MORE than 10,000 people — many of them foreign tourists — were evacuated from six camping grounds on the French Riviera as an intense forest fire driven by high winds advanced on their tents and caravans.

Emergency services said it appeared the fire had started in three different locations around the village of Puget sur Argens, near the chic coastal town of Saint Raphael, and was raging through dry woodland.

More than 400 firefighters, backed by dozens of vehicles and 11 aircraft, were battling the flames, trying to stop them before they spread to the many homes built in the forested area.

The fire broke out at the start of the summer holiday period, when millions of tourists from Britain, Germany, Scandinavia and elsewhere flock to the Riviera to soak up the sun.

Philippe Tran, an official at France’s National Forestry Office helping to co-ordinate the firefighting operations, said “more than 10,000 people” had been evacuated from just two of the massive campsites to a nature base in Frejus.

He said several caravans had been consumed or damaged by the blaze at one of the sites.

It was not immediately known how many people were told to leave the four other camping grounds.