Several hundred people have been evacuated into the Médoc, in Saumos and Sainte-Hélène. The winds, unfavorable, feed the progression of the fire.
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After a scorching summer in Gironde and fires that ravaged 28,000 hectares of forest in July and August in the Landiras and Teste-de-Buch sectors, new departures of magnitude began on Monday September 12 in the afternoon in Saumos, in Médoc. Tuesday evening, the flames had already swallowed 1,800 hectares of forest in this sector located about ten kilometers from Lacanau seaside resort. Four houses and a few buildings burned in Saumos, where 540 people were evacuated Monday evening from the town as well as neighboring hamlets.
Tuesday evening, the evolution of fire towards the city of Sainte-Hélène led to the evacuation of 300 people on the nearly 3,000 inhabitants in the municipality, while the winds, unfavorable, feed the fire progression. “Evacuated people go to Castelnau-de-Médoc,” said Thibaut Chancy, chief of staff to the mayor of Sainte-Hélène. Those who do not have a accommodation solution will be welcomed in a town hall. “The other residents were invited to stay at home.” A quarter of the territory is evacuated. We await the evolution of the fire and, sector by sector, decisions will be taken. Everything will depend on the evolution of the fire, the wind, the weather … “, continues Thibaut Chancy.
Throughout the day, the firefighters system is gaining momentum with the arrival of reinforcements from the whole of the New Aquitaine region, the Rhônes-Alpes region, from the Southeast, and of the Great West. In total, nearly 1,000 firefighters are fighting against the flames, supported by four Canadair, three water bomber helicopters, two Dash planes and up to 320 trucks in the forest.
” A second night that will be long “
The weather conditions are indeed unfavorable with an important and turning is “which dries up while the vegetation is already dried up, which does not help us”, specifies Lieutenant-Colonel Eric Pitault, communications officer Departmental Fire and Rescue Service of the Gironde (SDIS33). An “explosive cocktail” that combines high temperatures, drought and heat. Monday, mercury exceeded 37 ° C in the sector.
Furthermore, a second fire broke out in Vendays on Tuesday, September 13, north of the affected area, mobilizing air resources already deployed in Baumos. “The priority is given to the emerging fire. Once it is a little quieter there, they will return to Baumos,” said the SDIS Girondin communication manager. The firefighters hope to get a little respite in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, with temperatures announced downwards, and “the wind which should lose in intensity, which would allow to defend the sensitive points around houses”.
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