1,300 hectares burned in a new fire, 500 people evacuated

GIRONDE FIRES. 1,300 hectares of forest went up in smoke this Tuesday, September 13 in the fire that broke out in Saumos, in Gironde, yesterday afternoon. More than 500 people have been evacuated as firefighters continue to battle the flames.

[Mis à jour le 13 septembre à 9h56] The Gironde is again in the grip of the flames. Some 1,300 hectares went up in smoke according to the last report of the prefecture published this Tuesday, September 13. The fire broke out yesterday afternoon in Saumos, a town in the Médoc, and has since advanced towards Sainte-Hélène. As a preventive measure, 540 residents were evacuated and relocated to neighboring towns. While 340 firefighters have been fighting against the flames since the day before without having yet managed to control the fire. Firefighters can count on air support including two Canadair, a Dash and three water bomber helicopters. Two columns of additional firefighters are expected as reinforcements during the day.

The fire in Gironde is “quite virulent” according to the firefighters mobilized. “The start of the fire around 3 p.m. was so fast and violent that it was difficult to contain it and the fire progressed”, explained Lieutenant-Colonel Laurent Pham to France info. A speech which agrees with the testimony of the mayor of Saumos, Didier Chautard, collected by France Blue Gironde. The fire “spread at an exceptional speed in a few hours” according to the city councilor who specifies that “the changes in the wind really destabilized the firefighters.” The fire was indeed favored by the weather conditions which combined drought, high heat, low humidity in addition to the storm and the wind which rose during the night. The firefighters still managed to contain the advance of the flames in places, which stopped their progress only a few meters from the houses in places. But the work of the firefighters is far from over since the fire is still going on and risks being fanned by the shifting winds. The town of Saumos “begins to be surrounded by flames and the firefighters are a little overwhelmed because it takes on all sides”, according to the mayor who continues to evacuate certain sectors. The Gironde fire is reminiscent of the fires that broke out in the department this summer, moreover, the firefighters of the Departmental Service The sub-prefect of Lesparre-Médoc, Fabrice Thibier must speak at a point press at 10 a.m. to take stock of the evolution of the Gironde fire.

Where is the fire in Gironde?

It was in Saumos, a neighboring town of Lacanau and at the gates of the Médoc, in Gironde, that a new fire broke out on September 12. For the time being, the fire remains concentrated near the communes of Saumos but “quickly took over a large area of ​​the commune” and it nibbles hectares in the communes of Sainte-Hélène and the neighboring hamlets. Especially the fire is “very close to the houses” according to the aedile of Saumos.

What is the toll of the fire in Gironde?

The Gironde fire has not yet caused any casualties thanks to the work of the firefighters who have been trying to control the flames since the first hours of the disaster and to preventive evacuations. At the microphone of France Blue Gironde, the mayor of Saumos, Didier Chautard, explained that 90% of the 550 inhabitants of Saumos were evacuated before nightfall from Monday to Tuesday in addition to about twenty people in Saint Helena. All have been rehoused with their families or makeshift accommodation in surrounding towns such as Le Porge or Le Temple. The aedile indicated on BFM TV that the authorities”[sont] still in the process of evacuating sectors” this Tuesday morning. If no human loss is to be deplored, the material toll is a little heavier although minimal given the proximity between the flames and the dwellings: four houses burned .

What is the origin of the fire in Gironde?

While the Gironde was suffering from overwhelming heat when the fire broke out on September 12, the first elements of the investigation seem to indicate that the fire is “a priori of criminal origin” according to the Girondin gendarmes . Investigations are continuing to determine the causes of the fire, but the mayor of Saumos is already talking about three separate fire starts

The Gironde fire took over several hectares of forest in just a few hours, as shown by media images and videos of firefighters or amateurs filmed between yesterday afternoon and this morning.

Several fire watches hit the Girondin department this summer burning nearly 30,000 hectares, notably in Landiras, in the South of Gironde, and in La Teste-de-Buch, near the Bassin d’Arcachon. In July, the first fires and also the most destructive had different origins: that of La Teste was accidental while in Landiras the criminal track was privileged. In August, the fire was due to a resumption of the Landiras fire due to peat fires smoldering underground.