LOC18:18
15:18 GMT
PARIS, Aug 11 (KUNA) -- French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Thursday that Five European countries will join France's efforts to fight the wildfires that erupted lately southwestern the country.
Germany, Greece, Poland, Romania, and Austria -- are sending reinforcements to France to combat the wildfires, the French president tweeted.
"Across the territory, more than 10,000 firefighters and civil security personnel are mobilized against the flames," he added.
For her part, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and Interior Minister Gerald Darmannan arrived in Gironde Thursday in an effort to support the firefighters in the face of the escalating flames.
On Wednesday evening, the French authorities announced that the number of evacuees had risen to nearly 10,000 because of the fires that engulfed more than 6,200 hectares of vegetation cover in the southwest of the country.
Last July, when the Gironde region was witnessing two devastating fires, Italy and Greece sent reinforcements to France to fight the fires.
This summer, France witnessed three severe heat waves that led to exceptional drought, causing sporadic and numerous fires that affected at least 21,000 hectares. (end)
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