Forest fires in Gironde lead to 4,000 new evacuations


These forest fires, which did not cause any casualties, started at the start of the heat wave episode which has affected France since Monday, mainly in the west and south of the country.

Firefighters face Thursday a “unfavorable situation“In their fight against two forest fires which have destroyed 4,200 hectares since Tuesday, including more than 2,000 in La Teste-de-Buch, where some 4,000 people, including the personnel of a military base, asked to evacuate at the start of ‘afternoon.

This evacuationpreventive“of Cazaux, a town in the municipality of La Teste, and its military base (BA 120), concerns 4,000 people”transported by bus and car to the exhibition center“, where 6,000 campers had already found refuge overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, said the prefecture. The vast majority have since left the scene, noted an AFP journalist.

We are forced to take these measures because the smoke arriving in Cazaux is too high. The houses are not currently threatened by the fire.“Wrote the mayor of La Teste on her Facebook account. She specifies that the evacuation concerns the entire town of Cazaux, the BA 120, a supermarket and campsites.

Some 2100 hectares have burned since Tuesday in this forest which adjoins the famous dune of Pilat, which has been closed to the public. The same area of ​​pines also went up in smoke in the second fire, located near Landiras, about forty kilometers south of Bordeaux.

At 1:00 p.m., the situation remains unfavorable” in the sites, indicated the prefecture, which explained that “nearly 1,000 firefighters», «100 means of struggle” and “6 aircraftwere engaged.

Winds expected in the afternoon, which can reach 40 km / h, could further complicate the task of firefighters.

These forest fires, which did not cause any casualties, started at the start of the heat wave episode which has affected France since Monday, mainly in the west and south of the country. Gironde is kept on orange alert “heat waveby Meteo-France.

According to the Gironde prefecture, the mercury could rise to 38°C on Thursday in the department, which has also been placed on orange vigilance since Tuesday.forest fire” (level “raised“/3 out of 5) “given the weather conditions“.

SEE ALSO – Gironde: firefighters fight a fire that is difficult to control



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