more than 10,000 hectares burned

The firefighters’ fight continues this Saturday in Gironde to fix the two major forest fires which have ravaged more than 10,000 hectares since Tuesday in La Teste-de-Buch and Landiras.

The fire « contained but it is still not fixed »

At the Teste-de-Buch, the progression of the fire slowed down. The burned areas remain « stable », with 3,150 hectares up in smoke. The fire has been “contained but it is still not fixed. We are not going to cry victory because we are still in the fight phase, ”explained Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Mendousse, spokesman for the firefighters.

The fire continues to progress

On the other front in Landiras and Guillos, the situation remained “always unfavourable”, according to him. The fire continues to progress, burning « more than 7,000 hectares, or more than 1,000 hectares since last night », said the prefecture. A fire for which « the criminal thesis is privileged », according to the prosecution.

Due to the « very unfavorable » situation, with winds pushing the fires towards the southwest, the order was given at the beginning of the afternoon to proceed with the evacuation of the « village of Tuzan, the hamlet of Villagrain in the town of Cabanac-et-Villagrain and, in the town of Hostens, the town and the nautical base”.

12,200 evacuations

Since the start of the fires, « nearly 12,200 » residents and vacationers have had to leave the premises, the prefecture said in a statement. Five emergency accommodation centers and a medico-psychological emergency unit were also opened to support the victims.

A total of 1,200 firefighters are mobilized on Saturday on both fronts. Five water bomber planes (3 Canadair and a Dash) are currently flying over the areas, according to Sdis. On site, many bulldozers are also used to set up firebreaks (or clear cuts) in order to slow down and block the flames.

These fires, which did not cause any casualties, were triggered at the start of the heat wave episode which has affected France since Monday, mainly in the west and the south. The Gironde is kept on orange “heat wave” vigilance by Météo-France, like fifteen other departments.