Gironde, France - July 24, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of water-bombing aircraft extinguishing fires; wildfires, heavy smoke
2. SOUNDBITE (French) Arnault Des Granges, firefighter (starting with shot 1):
"The intensity is enormous. We already had a fire in 2022 in the same spot. It started right here. As you can see, there's nothing left. And four years later, we're back in the same place."
3. Various of wildfires
4. SOUNDBITE (French) Arnault Des Granges, firefighter (starting with shot 3):
"It's so terrible that the fire is hard to control. The fire is 500 meters away, and the flames are leaping 500 meters. With the wind they're forecasting at 80 kilometers per hour, I don't think we'll put it out. It's going to spread."
5. Firefighting vehicle moving toward forest
6. Wildfire
7. Various of people evacuating horses
8. Fire trucks
9. Various of people, food, folding beds at makeshift reception center
10. Various of staff member preparing food for firefighters
11. SOUNDBITE (French) staff member (name not given), makeshift reception center (starting with shot 10):
"We're making them some paella and camembert with fries. That way they can eat and regain their strength to fight the fire."
12. Various of food, folding beds
13. Various of firefighting vehicles moving

Nearly 200,000 people have been evacuated near Bordeaux, a city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department, as wildfires rage on in southwestern France.

Water-bombing aircraft swooped low over the fires raging outside Bordeaux, but load after load of water disappears into the flames.

"The intensity is enormous. We already had a fire in 2022 in the same spot. It started right here. As you can see, there's nothing left. And four years later, we're back in the same place," said Arnault Des Granges, a firefighter.

Twenty kilometers west of Bordeaux, the biggest of the 32 fires raging out of control in the south of France is scorching the pine forest.

"It's so terrible that the fire is hard to control. The fire is 500 meters away, and the flames are leaping 500 meters. With the wind they're forecasting at 80 kilometers per hour, I don't think we'll put it out. It's going to spread," Granges said.

A bit further down the road, the race was on to get horses out. Spooked by the smoke and noise, they were rushed onto trailers and driven to safety.

At a makeshift reception center, beds were laid out, and huge quantities of food prepared for exhausted firefighters.

"We're making them some paella and camembert with fries. That way they can eat and regain their strength to fight the fire," said a staff member at the center.