what we know about the fires of Landiras and La Teste-de-Buch

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Two fires are still in progress, Wednesday July 13 in the morning in Gironde, near Landiras and in La Teste-de-Buch. Since they declared themselves on Tuesday afternoon, more than 6 500 people were evacuated, and almost 2 800 hectares of forest have been destroyed, according to firefighters and the prefecture of Gironde. In all, nearly 600 firefighters were mobilized on Wednesday on these two fires. At this stage, there are no injuries or homes affected, according to the president of the department, Jean-Luc Gleyze, who speaks of fires “historical” and of “Immense damage.”

Fires that broke out on Tuesday afternoon and are still active

The first fire broke out on Tuesday around 3 p.m. in the La Teste-de-Buch sector, near Arcachon. An hour later, it was in the south of the department, in the town of Landiras (between Hostens and Langon) that two virulent fires started, reports France Blue Gironde.

According to a provisional report, Wednesday at 8 p.m., 2,800 hectares were reduced to ashes. “This forest is not maintainedexplains Lieutenant-Colonel Olivier Chavatte, who directs operations. It has no maintenance, it is extremely dense and therefore impenetrable. There is extremely little access for the average firefighters to be able to get as close as possible to the fire. The weather conditions are considered unfavorable (swirling winds and rising temperatures) and the sandy terrain is slowing the progress of relief, explains the Gironde prefecture. These conditions facilitated the progression of the flames. Both fires are fueled “by dry vegetation, especially the undergrowth. Obviously, the heat does not help”, explains the prefect of the Gironde, Fabienne Buccio. “And the problem is that they take place at the same time”.

To Lin Teste-de-Buch, 700 hectares are affected, said Wednesday morning the mayor of the town, Patrick Davet, on franceinfo. The fire changed direction during the night and threatened new areas on Wednesday, without the firefighters being able to take control of the flames, in an area difficult to access, caught in a vice between the Dune du Pilat and the pond of Cazeaux. The Pilat dune is also inaccessible until further notice. The fire could advance even faster in the afternoon of Wednesday, indicated at midday the reporter from France Bleu Gironde on the spot. And a new assessment in the afternoon now reported 1,300 hectares destroyed, i.e. “a third of the forest of La Teste-de-Buch” according to our franceinfo reporter on site.

But it is in Landiras that the fire is for the moment the most important. The toll has increased, from 1,000 to 1,500 hectares destroyed, according to a new count Wednesday afternoon. This is the largest fire in Gironde for twenty years. The fire is smoldering up to one meter underground in Guillos, indicates the reporter from France Bleu Gironde near Landiras. The terrain is very difficult for firefighters. The prefect of Gironde, quoted by France Bleu after a helicopter flight over the fire at the end of the morning, describes “a 5 km fire front”.

According to Jean-Luc Gleyze, president of the departmental council of Gironde, on the two fires, “There are resumptions of fire linked to the very high temperature and gales which reactivate the embers. It will be necessary to monitor for several days.”

A screenshot of the NASA Firms site, which tracks active fires on the planet. (FIRMS/NASA)

More than 6,500 people evacuated

In La Teste-de-Buch, five campsites were evacuated preventively, between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m., overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday. “6,000 people were evacuated to the exhibition center and the Leclerc center of the town”said Commander Laurent Dellac, of the Gironde firefighters, to franceinfo. “Waking up at 4 a.m. was thunderous, we had five minutes to load our things and head for La Teste-de-Buch, to get to safety in the parking lot of the exhibition center”testified William, vacationer in a campsite at the foot of the Dune du Pilat, at the microphone of France Bleu Gironde.

According to Commander Laurent Dellac, of the Gironde firefighters, these 6,000 people will not be able to return to their campsites on Wednesday evening, because “the fire is still evolving”. Close to 110 beds must be installed in a gymnasium in the municipality. Two motorhome areas were also evacuated in La Teste-de-Buch. This represents 100 vehicles, moved to the neighboring town of Biscarosse, in the Landes. The D218 was cut between the Dune du Pilat roundabout and Biscarosse Plage.

In the Landiras sector, at least 520 inhabitants were evacuated, again according to the Gironde prefecture. These people who live in five hamlets in the municipalities of Landiras, Guillos and Origne were sheltered in Louchats, where the village hall was opened, and in La Brède. Departmentals 115 and 125 are closed in the area. The village of Cabanac-et-Villagrains was evacuated on Wednesday evening as a precaution.

Nearly 1,000 firefighters from several departments mobilized, ten planes engaged

The number of firefighters will reach 1,000 people on the two sites, thanks to reinforcements from, for example, Loire-Atlantique or Essonne. In addition to the Gironde firefighters, mobilized on the two fires, the department benefits from reinforcements from New Aquitaine. Three additional Canadairs were added to the four that were already operating, as well as the three Dash.

Two firefighters had to be transferred to the Bordeaux University Hospital after inhaling fumes, according to information from France Bleu. There are no other injuries to report.

The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, announced on Twitter that he would go there on Wednesday afternoon to the firefighters and elected officials. “Thousands of other hectares are still threatened, we are fully mobilized”, he says on Twitter.

The track of an accidental origin for the fire of La Teste-de-Buch

At La Teste-de-Buch, the hypothesis “of a vehicle that had an electrical problem and caught fire” on “a road not far from the Dune du Pilat” is privileged, said the mayor of the town, Patrick Davet, on France Bleu Gironde. “It went to the forest and it could not be controlled”, he added. In Landiras, the origin of the fire is not known at this stage.


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