GIRONDE FIRES. More than a week after the start of the fires in Gironde, the advance of the fire is contained, both in Landiras and in La Teste-de-Buch. But the authorities still want to be cautious.
The essential
- The fires in Gironde continue to rage across the department but are no longer progressing, announced the prefecture. This Thursday, July 21, 2022, around 21,000 hectares had burned in Landiras and La Teste-de-Buch.
- 2000 firefighters are still mobilized to try to extinguish the flames which have not caused any casualties since the start of the two fires. However, nearly 37,000 people have still not returned to their place of residence.
- As for the investigations into the origins of these fires, they continue to advance: the criminal track in Landiras is still relevant even if a man, placed in police custody, was released, while the accidental thesis was confirmed. at La Teste.
- The latest news live.
Live
09:12 – The main announcements of Emmanuel Macron in Gironde
During his visit to La Teste-de-Buch, in Gironde, Wednesday July 20, 2022, Emmanuel Macron promised means to fight the fires. Here is a summary of his statements. He first announced a “major national project for the forest”, in collaboration with forest professionals and volunteers. He wants to rebuild the campsites “respecting the rules”, while five campsites were destroyed during the fires. Finally, he indicated the purchase of “more Canadair”. Civil society currently has 22 aircraft. However, the Head of State has announced that he wants to make these purchases on a European scale.
09:03 – A giant firewall deployed to spare Biscarosse from the fires
In an article, France Info tells how a giant firewall was set up between the Landes department and the Gironde department. Wednesday, July 20, the implementation of this firewall was still not complete. Over 5 km long and 300 m wide, the vegetation was completely razed, so that the fire could not progress towards the pine forest. It also aims to protect Biscarrosse, the third most populated town in the Landes, with 14,000 inhabitants.
08:54 – What weather this Thursday in Landiras?
The weather situation will be the same on the Landiras side. As elsewhere in Gironde, bright sunshine is expected throughout the day with temperatures reaching up to 30°C. But, here too, the firefighters will not have to fight with the wind, which will be zero throughout the day. What to allow a continuation of the slowing down of the flames?
08:41 – What is the weather this Thursday in La Teste-de-Buch?
Will the work of the firefighters to extinguish the fire in La Teste-de-Buch be facilitated by the weather this Thursday? One thing is certain, they will not be helped by the rain. No drops are expected today. On the contrary, it is a blazing sun which is announced by Météo France above the fire, with a mercury reaching 26°C during the afternoon. Enough to increase the vigilance of firefighters who fear new outbreaks of fires. However, it should be noted that the wind will not blow in the sector this Thursday, one less handicap in order to extinguish the flames.
08:29 – “No noticeable change” overnight
In a very brief update published on social networks, the Gironde prefecture announces that there has been “no significant change” in the situation since the last update on Wednesday evening. “Some resumptions of fires treated by the firefighters on the two fires and a lot of civil engineering work. The actions of treatment of the edges and protection of the sensitive points continued all night”, adds the prefecture.
08:22 – Two maps to understand the slowdown in the advance of fires in Gironde
The progression of the fires in Landiras and La Teste-de-Buch has therefore slowed down considerably in the past 24 hours, and even for two days. The screenshots below show, on the left side, the surfaces totally destroyed by the fires since July 12, while the right side shows the progress of the fires in the last 48 hours, allowing you to better understand slowing the progression of the flames.
Reading instructions: the fire of Landiras is located on the right part of each card, that of La Teste on the left part.
08:09 – Firefighters remain cautious in the face of a possible resumption of the fire
If the situation has undeniably improved, the firefighters do not want to rejoice too quickly and are showing extreme caution. “However, we do not yet consider the fires as fixed because we believe that they could still start again in favor of worsening weather conditions”, explains Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Mendousse of Sdis 33 to BFM-TV.
07:57 – “Strongly limited fire progression”
In its press release, the prefecture of Gironde is delighted with a “strongly limited progression of the fires in the last 24 hours. For the second day in a row, the two fires no longer present any flame fronts formed and have not progressed”, highlighting the work done by the 2000 firefighters, 6 Canadairs and 2 Dash, adding that the implementation of the firewalls was effective.
07:54 – 500 hectares of forest burned in 24 hours
According to the latest report from the Gironde prefecture, published Wednesday evening at 10 p.m., 20,800 hectares of forest burned between the two fires in Landiras and La Teste. A highly limited progression since in a press release published 24 hours earlier, 20,300 hectares had already burned. The fires therefore progressed very little during the day on Wednesday.
Learn more
The fires of Landiras and La Teste-de-Buch, in Gironde, broke out on Tuesday July 12 around 3 p.m. and one hour apart. In La Teste-de-Buch, the start of fire is accidental, said the mayor of the town, Patrick Davet at the microphone of France Blue Gironde, Saturday July 16, 2022. A hypothesis confirmed by several concordant sources. The breakdown of a thermal vehicle, such as a van according to some accounts, is the cause of the fire starting. The vehicle was parked on the low side of runway 214 at the edge of the pine forest, allowing the flames to spread in a few minutes. According to police information reported by South West, the driver is an employee of a campsite who was going to the recycling center when he broke down. Seeing the flames, the driver immediately called the emergency services, but did not have time to use his extinguisher. An investigation is underway for “involuntary destruction by fire of wood, forest, due to a breach of a security obligation” specified the public prosecutor of Bordeaux, Frédérique Porterie, on July 18. The prosecution added that, for the time being, the damaged vehicle is inaccessible, but that as soon as the situation allows it, it will be placed under seal and examined to “establish the causes of the fire”.
In Landiras, the fires would be of criminal origin. The Bordeaux prosecutor said that “the criminal identification technicians were able to make findings which accredit a deliberately malicious act”. The investigation for destruction by fire of wood, forest which could cause damage to people was entrusted to the Langon Research Brigade which questioned itself on the possible links between the fire and other fire outbreaks noted the same day. A track that no element confirms for the moment, but according to the prosecution, “clues remain to be exploited in order to eliminate or retain the thesis of the same author”. Monday July 18, a man was taken into custody and questioned. He is suspected to be the cause of some fires, but not the main fire, according to France Blue Gironde. He was finally released and is exonerated on Wednesday July 20.
Landiras, a commune in the South-Gironde, is in the grip of the largest fire of the two which broke out in the department on July 12, 2022. On Wednesday July 20, more than 13,800 hectares were burned around Landiras and the district of Langon according to the prefecture of Gironde. The forest fire extends over a circumference of more than 15 km long and wide. However, its progress was significantly slowed by firefighters on Wednesday. The drop in temperature, the fallout of the wind and the increase in humidity are more favorable conditions for the firefighters, but have not yet made it possible to fix the fires. Firebreaks have helped slow the fires and continue to be reinforced on several fronts in the face of this fire which does not have a single head, but is advancing in several places. However, the fire is not yet fixed and the risks of resumption are “significant” in particular on the “multiple hot spots inside the fire zone”.
The Landiras fire extends over nearly thirteen municipalities according to the communication officer of Sdis 33 and since July 12, more than 14,000 people have been evacuated by prevention. More than 8,000 had to leave their homes during the day of July 18. Other evacuations may occur depending on the progress of the flames. Despite the power of the flames which are sometimes “more than 100 m high” according to Bruno Lafon, president of Defense of forests against fires (DFCI) on France Blue Gironde and the scale of the fire, no casualties were to be deplored near Landiras and only half a dozen houses were burnt down.
In La Teste-de-Buch, the fire did not progress on Wednesday July 20, but 7,000 hectares have already been burned near the Arcachon basin. In recent days, the fire has spread south of the Dune du Pilat and reached the ocean, burning in particular patches of forest on the edge of the beaches of Petit Nice and the Lagoon. The progression of the fire is contained, but the winds, even weakened, which blow towards the south are still likely to push the fires towards the Landes department. On the loss side, the fire caused no casualties and five campsites in the town of Pyla-sur-Mer were 90% destroyed.
Where are the fires that broke out in Gironde and where are they spreading to? First, a first fire 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, 45 km south of Bordeaux.
The fires are so vigorous and the smoke has taken on such a dimension that it is possible to observe the phenomenon from the sky and space. The European Copernicus satellite imagery program captured impressive images, where you can very well see the progress of the smoke on the territory of the department, towards the west.
Here is the fire map from the specialized site Forest fires in France, which allows you to view the progress of claims in Gironde, but also in the Landes and other areas of France. This is a map that references the fires reported by a community of Internet users, in real time.
At this stage, the two fires that broke out in Landiras and La Teste-de-Buch (Gironde) have not caused any casualties. No one has been injured or died so far. Only the vegetation burned. These forest fires nevertheless led to the displacement of 36,750 people in the department, including more than 16,000 on July 18 alone.