More than 20,000 people have been evacuated as a major wildfire continues to spread in southwestern France.

Axar.az informs, citing French media, that the blaze near Saumos in the Arcachon Basin of Gironde has scorched more than 3,000 hectares of land, fueled by densely packed pine forests.

An initial 12,000 people were evacuated on Wednesday and overnight, followed by another 8,800 later on Thursday, including residents of Claouey and holidaymakers staying at nearby campsites and a naturist resort.

No injuries or damage to buildings have been reported. However, as of 1:00 p.m. local time, the fire remained out of control and continued to spread.

Firefighters carried out tactical burns along the fire's perimeter overnight in an effort to deprive the main blaze of fuel, but the operation failed to contain the wildfire.