Benjamin Peter 06:42, July 16, 2022

In Gironde, more than 7,300 hectares have gone up in smoke since Tuesday.

On the Landiras side, the fire is still raging, but has stopped progressing for the moment.

Europe 1 went to the heart of the flames, at the back of the fire, with the firefighters who are working tirelessly to definitively fix the fire in the face of the heat and the wind.

Since Tuesday, the Gironde has been plagued by violent fires.

To contain the spread of the Landiras fire, the firefighters concentrated on the southern tip and on the flanks, in particular the western flank which benefited from favorable winds on Friday evening.

With the help of retardant and backlights, they managed to slow him down.

A device that also requires the action of other teams who ensure that the areas already burned do not resume and do not create a new sector which could progress and in turn become uncontrollable.

"In reality, it still burns"

Firefighters are positioned at the rear of the fire.

Like this column coming from Morbihan and Loire-Atlantique, about twenty trucks and a hundred men are responsible for spotting and dealing with all the recoveries.

At the back of the fire, the firefighters intervene very quickly on all occasions to secure their colleagues located further forward and avoid any further spread on intact sectors. # FeuxDeForets pic.twitter.com/CLbsijAwjM

— (@BenjaminPeter) July 15, 2022

Zones which sometimes burned four days ago but which, under the effect of the heat and the wind, can revive at any time, as Commander Arnaud Mendousse of SDIS 33 explains: "We are talking about the rear fire but in reality it is still burning. So the major objective here is to prevent this whole area from resuming, in order to be able to concentrate our means and the attack on the front of the fire which is located more than 5 km from here now."

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"We have to move and be as dynamic as possible"

The leader coordinates his team, lengthens the pipes, while others, armed with spears, neutralize the flames in the heart of the pine forest.

For the head of the west column 1 Yvan Buaud, you have to be efficient and precise: "We come to get him, we go into contact with the fire, he explains at the microphone of Europe 1. We move and we have to "we favor our actions on the axis of propagation, as close as possible, to prevent it from spreading more and more. As it evolves, we have to move and be as dynamic as possible."

And once this sector is secure, they refuel at the nearest water point before joining another resumption of fire.

A huge task, while the perimeter of the disaster area is now more than 37 km long.

Thursday evening, the "criminal thesis" was favored for the impressive and devastating fire in Landiras.