GIRONDE FIRES. This Sunday, July 24, 2022, the fires of Gironde are about to be definitely under control. In addition, the weather is more favorable than expected. Residents are slowly returning to their homes. The latest information on fires in Gironde.
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- This Sunday, July 24, 2022, the fires of Gironde are about to be definitely under control. That of Teste-de-Buch was fixed the day before, announced the prefect of Gironde. In addition, the weather is more favorable than expected.
- For the past few days, residents have been gradually returning to their homes.
- 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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This Sunday, July 24, 2022, the fires of Gironde are about to be definitely under control. That of Teste-de-Buch was fixed the day before, announced the prefect of Gironde. In the Landiras sector, the fire is contained. In addition, the weather is more favorable than expected. This allows residents to return to their homes.
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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.
Unlike the fire at La Teste-de-Buch, that of Landiras, a town in southern Gironde, is not yet fixed. It is only contained according to the press release from the prefecture of Gironde of this Saturday July 23, 2022. In all, 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. 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”.
In La Teste-de-Buch, the fire is considered fixed by the Sdis. The prefect of Gironde announced it on Saturday evening July 23. Thus, 7,000 hectares burned near the Arcachon basin. The fire spread to the south of the Dune du Pilat and reached the ocean, notably burning patches of forest on the edge of the Petit Nice and La Lagune beaches. 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 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.