Three planes that were set to take part in the Bastille Day military parade in Paris have been dispatched to the Atlantic coast to help fight two out-of-control fires that have already burned nearly 3,700 hecatres of pine forest.
The largest fire around the town of Landiras, about 40 kilometres south of Bordeaux, is stabilised, having burned 2,000 hectares of forest, though it is still not under control, according to the Gironde prefecture.
Firefighters are having trouble getting another fire under control in the Teste-de-Buch forest on the coast, near the famous Pilat sand dunes, because variable winds are changing the trajectory of the flames, and the sandy terrain has complicated access.
Some 60 people were evacuated from a housing development in the village of Cazaux after nearly 6,000 people were asked to leave campsites in the area overnight Tuesday.
Nearly a thousand firefighters from all over France are working to put out both fires. They are using planes, including three Canadairs that were going to be part of the Bastille Day military parade down the Champs Elysées in Paris on Thursday.
The planes “represent the best of the Securité Civile", Alexandre Jouassard, spokesperson for France’s civil defense agency, regretting that they will not be part of the military showcase.
“The operation takes precedent over everything else, clearly, so they will be in the Gironde all day.”
🔥#FeuxDeForêt à La Teste-de-Buch et Landiras (33): depuis plus de 24h, le combat se poursuit dans les airs et sur terre pour faire face aux flammes.
— Sécurité Civile (@SecCivileFrance) July 13, 2022
🧑🚒1 000 sapeurs-pompiers & sapeurs-sauveteurs
🛩️4 #Canadair & 2 #Dash engagés ce soir
➡️Plus de 300 largages réalisés aujourd'hui pic.twitter.com/N2cmUNCJtS
The origin of the Landiras fire is still unknown, while the blaze in Teste-de-Buch was started by an accident or a lorry accident that caught fire, according to the Gironde prefect.
The fires started at the beginning of a heatwave that has hit France since Monday, particularly in the west and the south of the country.
The Météo-France weather service has kept the department in amber alert on Thursday with temperatures expected to reach 38 degrees Celsius.
The Gironde has an “elevated" risk of forest fires, as has the Landes department to the south, where fireworks displays have been banned for the Bastille Day national holiday because of the risk of setting off fires.
(with AFP)
