GIRONDE FIRES. In Gironde, the fires burned 10,600 hectares of vegetation. The criminal thesis is favored for the Landiras fire. 1200 firefighters are still mobilized. Since Tuesday July 12, more than 14,000 people have been evacuated.
The essential
- Sunday July 17, 2022, the two fires which affect the Gironde, in La Teste-de-Buch and Landiras, are still not under control. The latest figures transmitted by the Gironde prefecture show 3,400 hectares burned in La Teste-de-Buch and 7,200 in Landiras. At the same time, more than 14,000 people have been evacuated since Tuesday July 12, 2022.
- The high temperatures prevailing in the region, coupled with the wind, make fire extinguishing operations particularly difficult. During the night from Saturday to Sunday, the fire threatened the campsites of the Dune du Pilat. More than 1,200 firefighters, four canadairs and two Dash planes are still mobilized, Sunday July 17, 2022.
- The criminal thesis is favored for the Landiras fire. For that of Teste-de-Buch, it would be a truck fire and not an electric car, as announced by the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne.
- Thousands of residents and holidaymakers in the region had to be evacuated from their places of residence to be brought to safety. No one was injured in these fires.
- Follow the evolution of the situation live.
Live
11:01 – How are the fires progressing in Gironde?
In a press release, Sunday July 17, 2022, the prefecture of Gironde gives indications on the progression of the fires in the department. In La Teste-de-Buch, the situation is unfavorable “with multiple jumps and resumptions of fire”, she writes. In Landiras, “the situation is critical, with changing winds which are pushing the fire forward on different fronts”. The prefecture explains that, for this fire, the SDIS has implemented “a new strategy with the lighting of tactical fires and the creation of firewalls”.
10:46 – More than 14,000 people have been evacuated due to fires in Gironde
The fires in Gironde led to the evacuation of more than 14,000 people, indicates the prefecture in a press release, Sunday July 17, 2022. In La Teste-de-Buch, 10,000 people have been evacuated since Tuesday July 12, while 4 100 were evacuated to Landiras, including 1,900 on Saturday July 16.
10:31 – More than 10,500 hectares of forest burned during fires in Gironde
In a press release, Sunday July 17, 2022, the prefecture of Gironde announced that the fires in progress since Tuesday July 12 had burned 3,400 hectares of forest in La Teste-de-Buch and 7,200 in Landiras. The two fires are not yet fixed, more than 1,200 firefighters are mobilized as well as four canadairs and two Dash planes.
Learn more
Where are the fires that broke out in Gironde and where are they spreading to? First, a first traffic light is located in the west of the department, in the town of La Teste-de-Buch, near Arcachon, along the Dune du Pilat and the Atlantic Ocean. The fire is heading south, towards Landes and the town of Biscarosse. Further east, the second fire started from Landiras, 45km south of Bordeaux. There too, due to weather and wind conditions, the flames are heading south.
At this stage, the two fires that broke out in Landiras and La Teste-de-Buch (Gironde) did not claim a single victim. No one has been injured or died so far. Only the vegetation burned. These forest fires nevertheless led to the displacement of more than 14,000 people in the department.
The fires broke out on Tuesday July 12 at 3 p.m. around the towns of Landiras and La Teste-de-Buch, both located in Gironde. In La Teste-de-Buch, the start of fire is accidental, said the mayor of the town at the microphone of France Bleu Gironde, Saturday July 16, 2022. In Landiras, the cause is not yet known, but the criminal track is strongly considered by the investigators, indicated the parquet floor of Bordeaux, Friday July 15, 2022.