Wildfires prompt 10,000 evacuations on French Riviera

A woman and her daughter walk near leisure boats in a port as a plume of smoke from burning fires fills the sky in Bormes-les-Mimosas, in the Var department, France, July 26, 2017. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

MARSEILLE (Reuters) - Firefighters evacuated thousands of campers and local residents after a wildfire broke out on France's tourist-thronged Riviera coast overnight.

The blaze was the latest of several wind-whipped fires that are ravaging forest and scrubland on the hills and slopes that spill into the Mediterranean sea between the Marseilles and the city of Nice in the southeastern corner of France.

Not far west of the yacht-filled marinas of Saint-Tropez resort, 10,000 people were evacuated - 3,000 of them from campsites - as a fast-encroaching fire ripped through the hills of La Lodes les Manures, the Lavabo and Bromes.

Tourists, who were evacuated due to a forest fire, rest on mats and eat a meal in a gymnasium in Bormes-les-Mimosas, in the Var department, France, July 26, 2017. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier

"A fast-spreading fire broke out at 22:50 (2050 GMT), burning up about 800 hectares of land," the local government prefect's office said in a statement.

Hundreds of firefighters fought the blaze with planes and helicopters dropping tonnes of water on the tinder box hills where fires regularly break out in summer time, often as a result of a carelessly discarded cigarette butt.

Thousands of hectares of land have been devastated by flames since the start of the week, although Tuesday night's evacuation was far larger than other more minor ones where dozens of people and horses were moved to safety from fast-encroaching infernos.

Tourists, who were evacuated due to a forest fire, rest on mats and eat a meal in a gymnasium in Bormes-les-Mimosas, in the Var department, France, July 26, 2017. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier

High winds risked whipping up more fires, said the prefect's office of the Vary region, where most of the blazes are located.

So far there have been no deaths reported in the summertime wildfires, unlike in other countries such as Portugal where they have killed dozens.

Tourists who were evacuated due to a forest fire, eat a meal and rest in a gymnasium in Bormes-les-Mimosas, in the Var department, France, July 26, 2017. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier

(Reporting by Marc Leras, Writing by Brian Love; Editing by Andrew Callus)

Tourists, who were evacuated due to a forest fire, rest on mats and cots and eat a meal in a gymnasium in Bormes-les-Mimosas, in the Var department, France, July 26, 2017. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier

Flames and smoke fill the sky above a burning hillside as tourists swim on the beach in Bormes-les-Mimosas, in the Var department, France, July 26, 2017. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier

A Canadair firefighting aircraft drops water on a wildfire which burns a forest in Carros, near Nice, France. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

A woman and her daughter look at a plume of smoke from burning fires that fills the sky in Bormes-les-Mimosas, in the Var department, France, July 26, 2017. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier

Smoke fills the sky above a burning hillside as tourists swim in the waters off the beach in Bormes-les-Mimosas, in the Var department, France, July 26, 2017. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier

The charred debris of vehicles and a building that were destroyed by fire are seen near a parking lot for camping cars in Bormes-les-Mimosas, in the Var department, France, July 26, 2017, after firefighters evacuated thousands of campers and local residents when a wildfire broke out on France's tourist-thronged Riviera coast overnight. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier

People stand near charred debris of vehicles that were destroyed by fire in a parking lot for camping cars in Bormes-les-Mimosas, in the Var department, France, July 26, 2017, after firefighters evacuated thousands of campers and local residents when a wildfire broke out on France's tourist-thronged Riviera coast overnight. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier

People walk past charred debris of vehicles that were destroyed by fire in a parking lot for camping cars in Bormes-les-Mimosas, in the Var department, France, July 26, 2017, after firefighters evacuated thousands of campers and local residents when a wildfire broke out on France's tourist-thronged Riviera coast overnight. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier

Tourists look smoke that rises from trees at a forest fire on La Croix-Valmer from Cavalaire-sur-Mer, near Saint-Tropez, France. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier

Smoke fills the sky as flames from a wildfire burn trees near Seillons, in the Var department, France, July 25, 2017. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier

Vehicles that were destroyed by a burning wildfire are seen near a damaged home in Carros, near Nice, France. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

A man waters the roof of his house with a garden hose as a smoke from a burning wildfire fills the sky in Carros, near Nice, France. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard

Tourists evacuate the beach as smoke fills the sky above a burning hillside in Bormes-les-Mimosas, in the Var department, France, July 26, 2017. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier