Firefighters are still battling the flames in Gironde. This Monday morning at 8 a.m., the firefighters indicated that 14,000 hectares of land have been burned since Tuesday, or 1,000 hectares more than Sunday evening. And for good reason, the fires regained ground at the end of the weekend. “Despite the significant ground and air resources engaged, the situation is not fixed and even deteriorated in the afternoon” declared the firefighters.
The situation is “deteriorating”
In detail, the fire covered 9,800 hectares in Landiras, where “significant” resumptions of fire were observed until 3 am. The situation was “slightly calmer” the rest of the night.
“The situation remains critical and is deteriorating, with fire spreading on different fronts due to changing winds. Work to create firewalls is continuing,” he said. 4200 hectares of land have been burned since the start of the fire in La Teste-de-Buch, where the situation has also “degraded”, according to firefighters. The fire has reached the ocean and is progressing south. “This progress has been slowed down thanks to the action of the firefighters,” they added.
1,700 firefighters and nine water bombers
Many means continue to be deployed on site to fight the flames. 1,700 firefighters are mobilized in the two municipalities, or 200 more since Sunday evening. Nine water bombers are also used, three more than the day before.
The meteorological conditions of the department are not favorable to the control of fires.
“The unfavorable evolution of the fires is reinforced by extreme climatic conditions”, assured the firefighters. Like 14 other departments in the west, the Gironde was placed on heatwave red vigilance for the day on Monday. Temperatures should exceed 42°C in the afternoon, accompanied by winds at 60km/h. A total of 16,200 people have been evacuated from their homes since the start of the fires.