In Gironde, firefighters supported by European reinforcements stop the progression of the fire
Firefighters fight the fire near Saint-Magne, south of Bordeaux, Friday August 12 (photo provided by the SDIS 33 fire brigade).
PA
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
In Gironde, 1,100 firefighters now supported by European reinforcements have been fighting since Tuesday against a gigantic fire which has ravaged 7,400 hectares of forest.
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At the fire command post in Hostens, most of the signals are green.
The fire has not progressed for two days now.
However, the weather conditions were still very unfavorable this Friday, with more than 40 degrees and a wind that picked up at the start of the afternoon.
But the work of the firefighters is paying off.
The prefect of Gironde announced that the A63 motorway, partly cut off for several days, was in the process of reopening, on the eve of a busy weekend on the roads.
Hopes are therefore allowed, even if the firefighters insist: the fire is not yet under control.
Efforts are concentrated on the periphery of the fire and on the numerous fire outbreaks.
To extinguish them, the firefighters can now count on the help of
their German and Romanian colleagues who have arrived as reinforcements
.
They will be joined this Saturday by Polish and Austrian firefighters.
At base camp, French has gradually given way to English and the atmosphere is relaxed, notes our special correspondent, Grégory Genévrier.
Evacuees returning home
Many volunteers help out.
Elected officials, families and residents support the enormous logistics put in place to accommodate all these firefighters.
A collection of donations was organized in the town of Saucats.
The inhabitants remain motivated, even if some are starting to flinch.
“
We can't take it anymore.
Even if it gets better, it feels like it will never stop
, ”confided a resident in tears.
But thanks to the hard work of firefighters, some evacuees were able to return to their homes on Friday evening.
In France, three times more hectares burned than the annual average for the past ten years, and the year has been a record in the European Union since records began in 2006. Even the Jura, with its normally more moderate climate, has been struck by two fires.
In Brittany, a fire which destroyed nearly 300 hectares of vegetation in the Brocéliande forest west of Rennes, was "
contained two-thirds
" late Friday afternoon, said the prefect of Morbihan and firefighters .
In Ardèche, a fire which also broke out on Wednesday evening and ravaged at least 320 hectares "
has been fixed
", the department prefecture announced on Friday afternoon, adding that 150 to 200 firefighters remained mobilized.
The country is suffering from a third heat wave.
Nineteen departments, from the South-West to Finistère, were placed on heat wave orange vigilance by Météo-France for the day on Saturday.
This heat wave should end on Sunday, with thunderstorms over most of France.
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