The Gironde was placed on Thursday, July 14, in red vigilance “forest fires” while the two major fires that have been raging there since Tuesday have destroyed 4,700 hectares of vegetation. This placement in “very high” vigilance (i.e. 4 out of 5) from Thursday and “until further notice”, announced by the prefect, Fabienne Buccio, has the effect of prohibiting the movement of people and vehicles in the forest. between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m., to suspend logging and silvicultural activities between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. and to prohibit recreational and sporting activities in the forest.
Some 2,100 hectares burned in two days in La Teste-de-Buch, in the Arcachon basin, very close to the famous dune of Pilat, which was closed to the public. According to Buccio, the situation is “delicate” on this site. The fire did not affect Cazaux, a town in the town of La Teste-de-Buch, and Air Force Base 120, an area that 4,000 people evacuated in a “preventive” manner.
“The fire unfortunately is getting closer and closer to the houses of Cazaux, due to the fairly substantial northwest wind,” wrote the mayor of La Teste-de-Buch, Patrick Davet, on Facebook. “The Cazalins followed the evacuation instructions. The tireless work of the firefighters gives us a lot of hope for the protection of property. The police will regularly monitor the village so that no houses are visited. »
Ashes suspended in the air
A huge plume of orange-toned smoke filled the area in the afternoon and ashes are floating in the air, noted a journalist from Agence France-Presse.
During the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, 6,000 people had to be evacuated from five campsites near the dune. Most have now gone home and campsites are asking customers scheduled to arrive on Saturday not to come.
About forty kilometers south of Bordeaux, in the town of Landiras, 2,200 hectares of pines also went up in smoke. But the situation seems less complicated than in La Teste-de-Buch. “The objective is to stabilize the fire of Landiras to put all the means on that” of La Teste-de-Buch, explained Ms. Buccio.
Nearly 1,000 firefighters are engaged on these two fires as well as significant air resources, with at least seven Canadair and two Dash.
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 south of the country. The Gironde is kept in “heat wave” orange vigilance by Météo-France.
