GIRONDE FIRES. The fires are no longer progressing in Landiras and La Teste-de-Buch, but the fires are not yet “fixed” and the firefighters remain alert to the risk of resumption. This Saturday, July 23, the weather is more favorable to firefighters than the previous days. The latest info.
The essential
- The fires in Gironde have not progressed for three days in Landiras and La Teste-de-Buch. Friday, July 22, the Gironde prefecture said the fires are “now contained, but not fixed.” In ten days, 20,800 hectares of forest burned.
- This Saturday July 23, 2022 in the morning, the Sdis took stock of the current situation in Gironde. During the night from Friday to Saturday, 40 hot spots were treated, namely 33 in the Landiras sector and seven in La Teste-de-Buch. The rescuers want to be optimistic: the weather today is more favorable to the firefighters than the previous days.
- Since the start of the fires in Gironde, 36,750 people have been evacuated. On Thursday July 21, 6,000 residents were able to return to their homes: 3,500 in La Teste-de-Buch and 2,500 in a few towns near Landiras: Cabanac-et-Villagrains, part of the town of Budos and two hamlets in the town of Saint-Magne. On the evening of Friday July 22, 6,500 people were able to return to their homes in Villandraut, Noaillan, Budos, Léogeats and Landiras.
- Investigations into the origins of these fires continue to advance. The criminal track is favored in Landiras, while the accidental thesis is confirmed in La Teste-de-Buch.
- On Friday July 22, 2022, the Bordeaux public prosecutor’s office opened a judicial investigation concerning the forest fire in the Landiras sector. “Two investigating magistrates have been appointed to investigate in co-referral this open case of the heads of destruction by fire of wood, forests, moors, maquis, plantations or reforestation of others likely to expose people to bodily harm and to create irreversible damage to the environment,” the prosecution said.
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12:40 – Update on the night from Friday to Saturday
This Saturday July 23, 2022 in the morning, the Sdis took stock of the current situation in Gironde. During the night from Friday to Saturday, 40 hot spots were treated, namely 33 in the Landiras sector and seven in La Teste-de-Buch. The rescuers want to be optimistic: the weather today is more favorable to the firefighters than the previous days. On the side of the mobilized vehicles, there are two Canadairs and two water bomber helicopters are mobilized.
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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. Thursday July 21, 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 has been significantly slowed down by firefighters since the night of July 20. The drop in temperatures, the drop in wind and the increase in humidity are more favorable conditions for firefighters, but have not yet allowed the fires to be fixed. Firebreaks have helped slow the fires and continue to be reinforced on several fronts along the 66 km edge of the fire. However, this is not fixed and the risks of resumption are “significant” in particular on the “multiple hot spots inside the fire zone”.
The Landiras fire covers nearly thirteen towns according to the SDIS33 communication officer and since July 12, more than 14,000 people have been evacuated by prevention. No evacuation has taken place since the night of July 19 and the prefecture does not expect any news. There were no casualties near Landiras and half a dozen houses were burnt down.
In La Teste-de-Buch, the fire has not progressed since July 20, but 7,000 hectares have already burned near the Arcachon basin. The fire spread to the 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 did not cause any casualties, however five campsites in the town of Pyla-sur-Mer were destroyed up to 90%.
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, 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 from 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.