Ophelie Artaud 8:19 a.m., August 11, 2022
6,600 hectares of fire have been destroyed since Tuesday in the Landiras sector, in Gironde and the fire continues to evolve.
Jean-Marc Pelletant, mayor of Landiras, spoke this Thursday morning at the microphone of Europe 1. "We feel a form of helplessness. Because of the peat, it must be contained because it can resume very quickly", said he pointed out.
Just a month after the fires that had ravaged 14,000 hectares in Gironde, a major fire resumed in the Landiras sector.
6,600 hectares have been destroyed since Tuesday and 10,000 people have been evacuated.
This Thursday morning, Jean-Marc Pelletant, mayor of the town of Landiras, spoke on Europe 1, while 400 more hectares burned overnight from Wednesday to Thursday.
"The fire is heading south, it is at the gates of the Landes and if it reaches the Parc de Gascogne, it would be catastrophic," he warned.
Especially since "the fire kindles itself."
A fire that "progresses with the temperatures"
While 1,100 firefighters are fighting the flames on the ground and the high heat continues to affect France, Jean-Marc Pelletant explained that on Tuesday, "there were 40 fire outbreaks. This fire is progressing with the temperature, especially the afternoon. There are people who do the 'watch of the fire', who are on the ground and watching to extinguish any resumption".
Constant monitoring to avoid resumption, especially since the fire has started again because of the peat, "what is dangerous for the men in the field is that, as the fire buries itself, it burns the roots of trees and they can fall," he explained.
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"We feel a form of helplessness, this fire is uncontrollable. Because of the peat, it must be contained because it can resume very quickly", lamented the mayor of Landiras who also explained that "the department has created psychological cells , psychologists come and see patients, especially children, who are very anxious."
This Thursday, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne and Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin will travel to Gironde.
Although Jean-Marc Pelletant has not yet been contacted, he stressed "that it is obvious that my fellow mayors who will meet them will ask for more resources. I had met the Prime Minister last July and since , we had more air assets."
Before adding: "We have 5,300 hectares of forests, 2,000 have burned down and we will have to protect those who remain, I hope that there will be a reconstruction with state aid because some owners have lost everything", concluded Jean-Marc Pelletant.