Large forest fire near seaside resort of Lacanau, the Gironde

A FOREST fire around the popular seaside resort of Lacanau (map), in the Gironde, has ripped through around 450 hectares of land.

Canadair aircraft are expected to be operating in the air over the fire today as fire fighters continue to battle to control the flames, many of whom have been working through the night.

It is not clear what the cause of the fires was, but with hot dry winds forcing up temperatures across south west France this weekend it may take some time to get the fire under control.

La préfecture de Gironde has put restricts on public travel (9h49) around the forests as the Lacanau fire continues.

And the official notice from La préfecture de Gironde on travel restrictions around Lacanau.