During the night, “several outbreaks of fire threatened the campsites of the Dune du Pilat, which had to be evacuated from their guards”, she wrote on Twitter.
During the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, the 6,000 people staying in five campsites in this very touristy area had been evacuated as a precaution.
In this sector of Teste-de-Buch, where the fire progressed little during the night – going from 3,200 to 3,400 hectares up in smoke – “the night was complicated”, tells AFP Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Mendousse .
“The strategy was to protect the campsites, which we managed to do,” explains the firefighters’ spokesperson, who describes “tired teams”.
The President of the Senate Gérard Larcher went to meet them Sunday morning at the operational command post of Teste-de-Buch, before going to Landiras.
On this other front, the fire has also progressed less than last night, going from 7,000 to 7,100 hectares burned, thanks to an “effective strategy” via “the lighting of tactical fires and the creation of firewalls”, adds the fire department spokesperson.
In total, more than 14,000 residents and vacationers have had to pack their bags urgently since Tuesday. Seven emergency accommodation centers and a medico-psychological emergency cell were opened to support the victims.
On both fronts, 1,200 firefighters are mobilized, supported by water bombers (3 Canadair and 2 Dash).
“A lot of reinforcements are coming from all over France”, specifies Mr. Mendousse.
Four of them were slightly injured, a truck overturned and another burned,” the prefecture said on Saturday evening.
On Thursday, “forest fire” vigilance had gone up a notch in Gironde, turning red (scale 4/5), as in the Landes on Friday.
These fires, which did not cause any casualties, started at the start of the heat wave affecting France where the maximum will remain very high until the beginning of next week, with values between 35°C and 40° C, and 41 degrees locally in the Southwest, according to Météo France.
The Gironde is placed in orange “heat wave” vigilance by Météo France, like 36 other departments.
