The two gigantic fires, which have been ravaging the Gironde for seven days, have burned 14,000 hectares of vegetation, even going as far as the ocean, according to the latest report from the authorities on Monday.

Some 4,200 hectares went up in smoke at La Teste-de Buch, near the Arcachon basin, over a perimeter of 9 km by 8 km.

Regarding the second fire in Landiras, inland, the flames burned 9,800 hectares, i.e. a perimeter of 14 km by 9 km.

And some 8,000 people were in the process of “preventive evacuation” Monday from two districts of La Teste-de-Buch, in the Arcachon basin.

3,500 people also evacuated their homes at midday in the municipalities of Landiras, Budos and Balizacen.

The point in pictures on the historic fires that have been hitting the Gironde for a week.


Directed by:

Olivier JUSZCZAK

  • Two gigantic fires have been ravaging the Gironde for seven days.

    One near Landiras inland. 

  • The others near Teste-de-Buch in the Arcachon basin, near the Dune du Pilat.

  • On both fronts, 1,700 firefighters are mobilized, supported by water bombers (4 Canadair and 2 Dash).

  • Since the start of operations, 12 firefighters have been slightly injured.

  • 14,000 hectares of vegetation have already gone up in smoke.

  • In total, 16,000 residents and vacationers have had to pack their bags urgently since Tuesday.

  • This Monday, in scorching heat, with more than 40°C, and a sky turning gray-yellow, some 8,000 people had to leave - "preventively" according to the prefecture - Miquelots and Pyla-sur-Mer, districts of the commune of Teste-de-Buch, a commune of 28,000 inhabitants, very extensive and very wooded.

  • In the other sector where the flames have been raging since Tuesday, in Landiras in the south of the Gironde, several thousand people also had to leave their homes behind on Monday, in at least six municipalities.

  • More than a thousand animals will also be evacuated from the Bassin d'Arcachon zoo in La Teste-de-Buch.

  • Along the coast around the Dune du Pilat, from where campsites were emptied a few days ago, "we hear explosions, these are the gas canisters of campsites and restaurants", describes a journalist from the AFP on site.

  • No injuries or destruction of buildings are to be deplored for the moment.

  • The firefighters use “tactical burning” which consists of channeling the fire by igniting a zone on the side of the fire.

  • Dozens of fires broke out at the start of the heat wave that has affected France since the beginning of last week.

  • “We are facing extreme and exceptional situations.

    We will exceed 40°C on both sites.

    Each time, around 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. it becomes a powder keg, ”warned the departmental director of Sdis 33, Marc Vermeulen.

  • “We saw phenomena that foresters have never seen before.

    The fire literally explodes, linked to the heat and the calorific potential present.

    The 40-year-old pine trunks burst,” he describes.

  • On the ground, faced with "non-standard" blazes and in infernal heat, the approximately 1,700 firefighters mobilized in Gironde faced Monday "one of the most difficult days" since the start of their fight against the flames, the July 12.

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