Fires in Gironde: the 361 European firefighters arrived on site

Chloé Lagadou (in Mérignac), edited by Ophélie Artaud 06:50, August 13, 2022

Throughout France, some fires are beginning to be brought under control.

The one that touches the Jura, where 660 hectares of vegetation have burned, is not yet fixed.

In Brittany, nearly 300 hectares of the Brocéliande forest also went up in smoke, but the fire was two-thirds contained yesterday afternoon.

In Ardèche, another fire started on Wednesday evening has been fixed.

And then, in Gironde, the fire has not progressed for 48 hours.

The inhabitants of certain sectors of the Landes municipalities of Moustey and Saugnacq-et-Muret were even authorized to return home last night.

The 1,100 French firefighters who are on the ground have received help from German, Romanian, Polish and Austrian colleagues.

In total, 361 European firefighters are on site, with also four canadairs.

Europe 1 met the pilots.

A precise technical lexicon for exchanging

Dressed in a navy jumpsuit and his sunglasses on his nose, Anastasios prepares to board his Canadair.

This Greek pilot is happy to be able to lend a hand "It feels good because we have the feeling of helping you. It is very important. You see the fires every year in Greece, we see it here at the moment in France, It feels good to be there to help."

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Even if he is used to fighting very large fires in Greece, this time he and his colleagues will not be able to fly alone, explains Claire Kowalewski, colonel of firefighters.

"A French Canadair will always be the leader of the patrol and he will be followed by foreign aircraft. In fact, water-dropping activity can be dangerous for ground troops. Obviously, it is easier in France to have a French firefighter giving clearance to a French pilot to drop off the ground."

And to communicate more easily on board planes, French and foreign firefighters use a very precise technical lexicon in English.