The fires affected an additional 300 hectares overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday. Four homes have been destroyed and more than 800 people have been evacuated since the fire started on Monday.
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The fire which broke out on Monday September 12 in the town of Saumos, in Gironde, progressed during the night from Tuesday to Wednesday. The new assessment, still provisional, amounts to 3,500 hectares burned, or 300 additional hectares, according to information from France Bleu Gironde. The prefecture of Gironde must communicate an official report this Wednesday morning.
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Nearly 920 firefighters are now mobilized. Four homes have been destroyed and more than 800 people have been evacuated since the fire started on Monday. In Saint Helena, 300 people were evacuated on Tuesday. As of Monday evening, 540 people had already been displaced in the Saumos and Sainte-Hélène sectors.
According to the mayor of Sainte-Hélène, Lionel Montillaud, questioned on Wednesday on France Bleu Gironde, “The night was restless but the firefighters did a remarkable job of containing the progression of the fire”. “We will watch this day with great vigilance”he continues, assuring that his municipality has been “preserved” flames at night.
For Laurent Peyrondet, Modem mayor of Lacanau, guest Wednesday morning on franceinfo, “the concern is the gusts of wind expected at 11 a.m.”. “Even if the firefighters worked well, the perimeter of the fire is still important”, he adds. The elected official points to the virulence of the fires, due to drought and climate change. “The observation today is that the forest is straw, it has not rained for months”he laments.