After the destruction by the flames of nearly 4700 hectares of vegetation and the evacuation Thursday of the 4000 inhabitants of the village of Cazaux, the Gironde was placed in red vigilance “forest fires”
The Gironde was placed on Thursday in red vigilance “forest fires” while the two major fires that have been raging there since Tuesday have destroyed 4,700 hectares of vegetation, including 2,500 in La Teste-de-Buch where some 4,000 inhabitants of the town of Cazaux have had to evacuate in the early afternoon.
This placement in “very high” vigilance (level 4 out of 5) from Thursday and “until further notice”, announced by the prefect Fabienne Buccio, has the effect of prohibiting the movement of people and vehicles in the forest between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m., to suspend logging and silvicultural activities between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. and to prohibit recreational and sports activities in the forest.
According to Ms. Buccio, the situation is “delicate” on the fire of La Teste but it did not affect the town of Cazaux and military base (BA 120), an area that 4,000 people evacuated in a “preventive” way.
“Unfortunately, the fire is getting closer and closer to the houses of Cazaux, due to the fairly substantial northwest wind,” said the mayor of La Teste, Patrick Davet, on Facebook. “The Cazalins complied with the evacuation instructions. The tireless work of the firefighters gives us great hope for the protection of property. The police will regularly monitor the village so that no houses are visited.”
A huge plume of orange-toned smoke filled the area in the afternoon and ashes are floating in the air, an AFP journalist noted.
The priority tonight for firefighters will be to protect property and homes in Cazaux, explained to journalists Marc Vermeulen, director of the Gironde fire and rescue service (SIDS 33).
The fire took place on Tuesday on a forest road in this vast pine forest, difficult to access and very dense, which adjoins the famous dune of Pilat, now closed to the public.
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The objective is to stabilize the fire of Landiras to put all the means on it
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During the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, 6,000 people had to be evacuated from five campsites near the dune. Most have now gone home and campsites are asking customers scheduled to arrive on Saturday not to come.
Some 2,200 hectares of pines also went up in smoke in the second fire, located near Landiras, about forty kilometers south of Bordeaux. But the situation seems less complicated than at La Teste.
“The objective is to stabilize the Landiras fire to put all the means on it”, explained to La Teste the prefect Fabienne Buccio.
Nearly 1,000 firefighters are engaged on these two fires as well as significant air resources, with at least seven Canadair and two Dash.
These forest fires, which did not cause any casualties, started at the start of the heat wave episode which has affected France since Tuesday, mainly in the west and south of the country.
The Gironde is one of the eleven departments currently placed in orange “heat wave” vigilance by Météo-France.