“Things are better, but the battle is not over,” said Gironde’s prefect on Thursday. According to the firefighters, there are “hot spots” that can cause recovery of fire.
Le Monde with AFP
clearly lull on the front of the fires in Gironde. The two fires that have destroyed 20,800 hectares of forest for ten days and led to the evacuation of more than 36,000 people, did not progress overnight on Wednesday to Thursday, but the firefighters are still dealing with a few occasions.
“Things are better, but the battle against fire is not over,” warned Gironde’s prefect, Fabienne Bucchio, during a press point Thursday July 21 in the afternoon.
Firefighters and foresters were thus able to continue their work of “protection of sensitive points”, in particular thanks to the creation and consolidation of firewalls -long strips of shaved earth -, and the anchoring or drowning of the vegetation.
no reintegration of the population at this stage
“There is no longer a flame wall that progresses under the effect of the wind and creates fiery swings,” said one of the spokesperson for firefighters, Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Mendousse. However, there are “hot spots” that can cause fiery covers, also called “smokings”. Despite a slight increase in temperatures, “today’s day should look like that of yesterday,” said Arnaud Mendousse. The lights are still not fixed, and will not be “probably not today,” he said, evoking “contained fires”.
Fabienne Buccio announced that part of the people evacuated in the Pyla district in La Teste-de-Buch, on the Arcachon basin, were going to be able to return to their homes. But, she pointed out, “if not, there is no reintegration of the population”:
“We have to realize that we are faced with two large fires, that we will not turn them as fast as that. To reintegrate the populations, we still need a little patience, at least a few days. “
Decrease in temperatures
On Wednesday, the approximately 2,000 committed firefighters had managed to prevent the progress of the lights thanks to more favorable weather, with a drop in temperatures and a wealthy air.
Visit the two fire sites on Wednesday, in La Teste-de-Buch, then in Landiras, 40 km south of Bordeaux, Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to all the people mobilized against fires. He also promised a “major national project” to rebuild the forest. He also recognized the need to have more air means to fight fires, while stressing that the 22 planes available to civil protection were “sufficient in recent years”. Id = “x8cjgl7” Data-Provider = “Dailymotion” data -tle = “fires in gironde: tactical lights to contain the flames”>