The authorities of the French department of Gironde (southwest), where work is underway against a huge fire that has already covered 42,000 hectares, rule out a short-term return for the 220,000 evacuated due to the fire and consider that the nearby city of Bordeaux is not currently under threat.
“There will be no possible return to the evacuated territorial entities, even if the fire passes by, until the fire is contained,” said the prefect (government delegate) of Gironde, Sophie Brocas, this Sunday in a press conference.
Regarding when this could happen – after the fire became complicated again last night by phenomena known as pyrocumulonimbus, which generate a kind of firestorm – Brocas stressed that it is unpredictable and that the fire does not even respond to the logic of the winds.
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She also noted that a significant increase in temperatures is expected from Tuesday, up to 38 and 40 degrees, which will not be “favorable”.
Currently, the strategy, while fighting the flames, is to intensify efforts “to deprive the fire of fuel,” she said, which is why tactical felling and pruning are being carried out in an area that is not only very wooded but also experiencing unprecedented dry conditions this summer.
The huge fire, which at its easternmost point is about fifteen kilometers from Bordeaux, is shaped like a triangle, and firefighting teams are working simultaneously on its three flanks, as indicated by Marc Vermeulen, departmental director of fire and emergency services of Gironde, alongside Brocas at the press conference.
“The more the heat potential is limited, the more the potential for that kind of phenomenon will be limited,” Vermeulen noted about pyrocumulonimbus, which are the biggest concern for containing it. In fact, they required the advice of national and international experts this morning, as they had never been seen in any fire in France before.
In the area, 2,500 firefighters, 1,500 military personnel, and 1,200 police and gendarmes are working, also aided by farmers, whom authorities asked not to act without coordinating with emergency services to avoid the risk of being trapped in the flames.
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There are also 18 firefighting aircraft, joined for the second day by the A400M plane, a military transport Airbus that was specially adapted to support firefighting efforts.
A total of 75 firefighters have been injured in the extinguishing efforts, and an estimated 240 homes were destroyed. Work activity was suspended throughout the area, and the State will be involved in covering salaries, according to Brocas.
Regarding traffic, the A63 motorway, which connects Bordeaux with Spain, remains closed in some sections. South-north bound, it is closed between exit 17 (Liposthey) and 24 (Cestas), and in the opposite direction, the closure is between the Bordeaux ring road and exit 23 (Marcheprime).
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Rail traffic south of Bordeaux also suffers interruptions.
The smoke caused by the fire has led to harmful microparticle levels being exceeded in four departments, so the State is distributing masks and recommends, as far as possible, not going outside or opening windows.
Brocas urged tourists planning to travel to Gironde for holidays to consider changing their plans, and those already in the area to consider going to other destinations, as a worsening situation cannot be ruled out at any time.
The Gironde fire is the most serious one being fought in France, but there are also active fires in Var, Les Landes, the island of Corsica, and the Hautes-Alpes area, among other places.
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