They will have ravaged 20,800 hectares of forest in regarding ten days. After the Teste-de-Buch, it is the turn of the fire of Landiras to be fixed. The prefect of Gironde announced this Monday, July 25 during a press conference. “Be careful, the fires are fixed. They are not extinguished. This means that there are no longer any active fireplaces”, added Fabienne Buccio. Resumptions of fire remain but the areas where the flames are spreading are no longer progressing. All residents evacuated will return to their homes. This represents around 16,000 people in the South-Gironde.
20,8000 hectares destroyed
During this press briefing, Fabienne Buccio recalled the “twelve days of anguish and waiting” that the Girondins have just experienced but also the “twelve days of exemplary mobilization”. In La Teste, the flames ravaged “7000 hectares” of pines indicated the prefect, 20,000 people had been evacuated. All have since returned to their homes. The Landiras fire started a little later on Tuesday July 12. “An investigation still in progress, it is up to the prosecution to comment on it” says Fabienne Buccio. The criminal track is favored by the investigators. A suspect has been cleared last week.
The Landiras forest is different from that of La Teste even if it is also pine. “It’s an exploited forest“, with a dispersed habitat and the presence of hamlets.”16,000 residents were evacuated. said the prefect. They will be able to go home.“It’s a first step, another decisive step”, rejoiced the mayor of Landiras Jean-Marc Pelletant, this Monday on franceinfo. Residents evacuated “will not be able to find what they had before”he warned. “There, they have changed planets, the environment is totally different” car “the fire having passed through there, everything is burnt, everything is grilled”.
For 12 days, the two fires ravaged 20,800 hectares, the area of twice Paris intra muros. “It will take several weeks and probably the autumn rains to say that the fires are out” added SDIS 33 boss Marc Vermeulen. Soldiers are expected on Wednesday to scrape the floors. According to the firefighters, a fire is “fixed” when they think it will not progress any further. It is then “under control”, then “extinguished” and must then be “monitored”.
An “out of the ordinary” crisis
This crisis was “extraordinary“assures the prefect of Gironde: “By its duration, almost two weeks, by its magnitude, by the simultaneity of the two fires” explains Fabienne Buccio. They were “extremely difficult to control, reinforced by exceptional climatic conditions”. Indeed, the conditions were unfavourable, with high temperatures, changing winds and low rainfall which put the vegetation in a state of water stress.
The days from Friday 15 to Monday 18 July were “marked by extreme conditions, temperatures over 40 degrees and gusts over 60 km / h”.
Colossal means
Fabienne Buccio indicates that “We mobilized land and air resources at the height of the crisis. Up to 3,000 firefighters from Gironde and 1,200 firefighters from 60 departments were mobilized”. In total, 1,250 firefighters were still on the ground this Sunday. “From day one, we had air assets. Two to eight water bombers, Canadairs or Dash, two water bomber helicopters and a Sdis helicopter and army support for fire surveillance”she added
The prefect recalled how “it was necessary to show imagination (…) by carrying out titanic and unprecedented works of firewalls and zone of folds”, “131 km of works were carried out out of 152 km planned. Work is still in progress”. On these two lights, Mr. Vermeulen specified that there were always “three columns of extra departmental reinforcements” as well as “air assets: two attack helicopters and two Canadair.”
A positive balance sheet
Despite the magnitude of these two fires, no injuries reported in the population, said the boss of Sdis 33 Marc Vermeulen. “The results are positive because there were no victims” in the population, “there were five homes destroyed out of the nearly 2,800 exposed”added the prefect who will “bring together State services to prepare for the exit from the economic crisis, to assess the impacts and identify the needs”.
Fabienne Buccio said 25 injured firefighters were injured “fortunately slightly”.
