The fire which destroyed 300 hectares of pines is “fixed” this Sunday



Illustration firefighters, forest fire. – M.Bosredon / 20Minutes

Nearly 300 hectares of forest have been destroyed since Saturday in Gironde in a fire which was “fixed” this Sunday morning, but still mobilized a hundred firefighters, without endangering homes, according to the emergency services. Up to 160 firefighters were hired late in the evening to stop the progression of the blaze, of undetermined origin, which broke out around 4.30 p.m. in the area.
Avensan in the Médoc, north-west of Bordeaux.

Two canadair planes and a Dash water bomber resumed air rotations this Sunday to deal with the “hot spots” of the fire, around 10 km long, and to avoid possible recaptures. No home was threatened or evacuation carried out by the firefighters. No firefighter was injured. The destroyed vegetation is mainly pine.

First major forest fire of the year

The Avensan fire is one of the first major forest fires of the year in Gironde, half of the area of ​​which is covered with forest, and which is home to a large part of the Landes de Gascogne, the largest forest complex exploited from Europe with nearly a million hectares.

The Gironde is the leading French department in terms of number of fire starts, with nearly 1,000 per year on average, but areas destroyed (around a thousand hectares on average) relatively low in proportion, according to figures from the prefecture.



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