In Belin-Béliet in Gironde, the fire is at the gates of the town. Very early in the morning of August 10, Canadairs, large Dash planes and helicopters, carrying 4,000 liter canisters of water, flew over the area: the resumption of the Landiras fire had already ravaged 6,200 hectares and pushed 10,000 residents out of their homes. In Belin-Béliet, a town of 5,000 inhabitants close to the epicenter, the sky has taken on a dark hue and a smell of burning floats in the streets, only the ballet of fire trucks animates the small deserted town.
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Within hours, the flames got dangerously close and 2,5000 residents had to leave their homes urgently, says Elionor, 19: “This morning, we got up and saw the black clouds above us. It upsets a little bit, everything is linked very, very quickly.” For the teenager, it was still unthinkable a few weeks ago. “When there were the first fires in July, I said to myself: ‘imagine if it comes so far!’ And that’s exactly what happened today. It’s really impressive!”she exclaims.
In the streets, elected officials and police go door to door to encourage residents to evacuate, neighborhood after neighborhood. A village hall has been requisitioned not far from there to accommodate them. Seventeen houses have already been destroyed in the town. “There are cars everywhere, Canadairs above our heads, sirens ringing”, lists Evelyne, 66 years old. The retiree chose to find refuge with her children, and she only had half an hour to pack her bags. “Soon 40 years of life in a car trunk and leaving home, I didn’t think it was so stressful, she says moved. But yes, that’s it, we’re really there, we have to leave.” She was only able to take a few belongings, those that were most important to her.
“We took the essentials: a few clothes, the iPad, and above all a small album with photos of my children at the age of two, three.”
Evelyne, 66, resident of Belin-Bélietat franceinfo
A little further, in the most isolated district of the city center, the last inhabitants are preparing to leave. Jean-Louis leaves his house to move in with his daughter, in Biscarosse. “It scares me a little because the forest is ten meters behind the househe confides. I’m afraid the fire will cross the track and reach my house. I have chills, it’s impressive.”
#FiresGironde|Progressing fire fought with coordination of means between the #Firefighters of #Gironde and #Landes supported by @DFCIaquitaine
▶️6200ha burned
▶️10,000 people evacuated
▶️1000 #Firefighters mobilized
⚠️ Stay safe and avoid the area pic.twitter.com/iAE6F3kLpl– Prefect of New Aquitaine and Gironde (@PrefAquitaine33) August 10, 2022
In the evening, the city is almost deserted. Only a few diehards have remained and refuse to leave their homes. For now, “no injuries are to be deplored”, say the authorities. An information cell has been opened to the public, specifies the prefecture of Gironde in a press release, as well as a psychological cell. More than 1,000 firefighters will take turns in the night to fight the flames.