Campsites evacuated as wild fires threaten campers on French Riviera

Campers were ordered to leave three campsites as the flames fanned by strong winds came within half a mile of their tents, engulfing them in smoke and ash in the Var department of southeastern France, near Saint-Tropez.

More than 300 firefighters supported by 11 water-bombing Canadair planes took five hours to douse the blaze, which started at around 5pm on Monday.

Campers at sites in the region were mainly northern Europeans from Britain, Holland and Belgium. Regional fire chiefs said an investigation had been launched to discover what started the fire, the third major forest fire in southern France this summer.