It is a relief for the firefighters and the inhabitants of the region: the fire which has ravaged 7,000 hectares of forest since July 12 in La Teste-de-Buch, in the Arcachon basin, is "now fixed”, said Saturday July 23 the prefecture of Gironde.
After eleven days of fighting the flames, "all the inhabitants evacuated" in a preventive manner in this commune are now "authorized to return to their homes, with the support of the national police", added the prefecture in a press release.
The other fire which broke out the same day in Gironde, in the Landiras sector, and which burned 13,800 hectares of forest, is not "yet fixed", "due to the risk of recovery", said the prefecture.
This fire is still considered "contained".
"Around thirty homes remaining active, the surveillance of the massif, the treatment of the edges and the resumption of fire as well as the civil engineering work are continuing", explained the prefecture.
No casualties to report
In this sector of Landiras, a little less than a third of the people evacuated preventively have not yet been able to return to their homes, but "the authorities continue to study sector by sector the possibilities of reintegration for these people".
>> To see: Fires in France: "We are going towards the risk of very large fires"
Despite the magnitude of these two fires (20,800 hectares burned, more than 36,000 people evacuated), no casualties were reported.
Significant land and air resources (two Canadairs and two forest fire attack helicopters) remain mobilized, according to the prefecture.
With AFP
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