The fire which broke out in the south of Gironde, in the municipalities of Hostens, Saint-Magne and Cabanac-et-Villagrains, spread to the Landes department on the night of Tuesday 9 to Wednesday 10 august. These fires burned 6,000 hectares, according to an updated report from the Gironde prefecture on Wednesday morning. These are resumptions of the historic Landiras fire, which ravaged more than 13,000 hectares last July.
The fire was considered “fixed”, it was no longer progressing, but it had not been declared under control for fear of a recovery, specify the firefighters of Gironde. This is what happened on Tuesday with the start of two fires, about twenty kilometers from each other. That of Cabanac is fixed but that of Hostens, which extended to the Landes, “is very virulent”, alerts the prefecture. It goes towards the A63, in the Bayonne-Bordeaux direction.
#Gironde | Back to hell.
Caution and courage to all “climate soldiers”. pic.twitter.com/ymgicp0Q8P– Firefighters of France (@PompiersFR) August 9, 2022
The speed has been lowered to 90 km/h and traffic limited to two lanes instead of three in the area concerned. Depending on the evolution of the fire, a shutdown of the highway is planned.
In Gironde, 16 houses were destroyed by flames in the town of Belin-Béliet. “No injuries are to be deplored”, authorities said. Around 3,800 people were evacuated on Tuesday from the Belin-Béliet, Saint-Magne and Hostens sectors. New evacuations continue Wednesday morning from the town of Belin.
“It’s a relentless struggle that has lasted for more than a month”entrusts Wednesday on franceinfo Jean-Marc Pelletant, the mayor of Landiras,. “Volunteers are starting to get tired. Storms are forecast for the weekend, so we’re counting on that a lot.”.
“Since the fire [du mois de juillet] is fixed, there are retakes every day”, deplores the chosen one. They are gradually extinguished by the firefighters.but yesterday [mardi]a recovery crossed the road and tackled the forest that had been spared”, explains the aedile. He adds that his municipality of Landiras knows “two or three hot spots, but under control.”
In the Landes, the prefecture carried out 215 evacuations. Among the evacuees, 48 are housed in the village hall of Moustey, the others have found a solution through family or friends. “At this stage, no homes are affected by the flames”on the Landes side, specifies the prefecture of the department.
Two Landes firefighters were slightly injured last night. The first was slightly injured in an incident with a truck, the second was burned in the calves and evacuated to the Hospital Center of Mont-de-Marsan. A total of 500 firefighters are mobilized, with the support of civil security water bombers.