Black smoke darkened the skies and crackling flames roared through pine trees in a forest in southwest France on Thursday as wildfires have forced more than 20,000 residents and holidaymakers to flee. John Wilmes, who has been renting a house in Lege-Cap-Ferret, said: "It feels like being in a war zone." The blaze advanced rapidly through a dense pine forest, with flames soaring to 10 metres (33 feet) in some places. Advertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementThree houses were scorched by the flames and a caravan destroyed, but no casualties have been reported so far. - Exhausted firefighters -Wilmes, 46, said he was waiting to see how things turn out.