Fires, a deep drought and a lasting heat wave: firefighters were fighting this Wednesday against new blazes in forests completely dried out by heat waves and the lack of rain of a summer that will go down in history.
With more than 47,000 ha burned since the start of the year, France experienced a record number of areas burned in July.
The sinister counter continues to tick: to date, more than 56,000 ha have burned.
Firefighters are mobilized on many fronts, particularly in Gironde, but also on smaller fires in Maine-et-Loire, Aveyron, Drôme, Isère or Pyrénées-Orientales, each time with reinforcements from other departments.
We take stock.
Near Landiras, in Gironde, the fire "still progressing"
A month almost to the day after the start of the gigantic Landiras fire, the resumption of a “very vigorous” fire, which devoured 6,200 hectares of forest and led to the evacuation of 10,000 people, continued its “progress” on Wednesday evening. » in the south of the Gironde.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne will travel to the department with the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, to emphasize that the government's mobilization is "total".
In 24 hours, at a galloping pace, the fire which broke out in Saint-Magne on Tuesday afternoon has already destroyed 6,200 ha of forest in the Hostens sector, on the border with the Landes department, also caught up by the flames.
“The fight is extremely fiery (…) What about the night?
The fire has accustomed us to surprise us, ”said Martin Guespereau, the delegate prefect on Wednesday evening during a press briefing, under the ballet of helicopters.
VIDEO.
“Our priority is to save lives”, declares the delegate prefect of Gironde
"The fire has spread on all sides and with the rise in temperatures, we have a fire that has exploded in certain places", in particular towards the north in the direction of Belin-Béliet, which is "threatened", explained the Gironde fire department director Marc Vermeulen.
"No victim" is to be deplored among the inhabitants but the "all-out fight" against the flames caused two minor injuries and "one more serious injury" among the firefighters, according to Martin Guespereau.
Seventeen homes and two fire engines were destroyed.
Jura: more than 260 ha gone up in smoke
Several fires ravaged this Wednesday nearly 262 ha of vegetation in the Jura, placed at the drought “crisis” level since August 1, around thirty inhabitants of a hamlet having to be evacuated, announced the prefecture in a press release.
In the sector of the municipality of Vescles, 112 hectares of brush and forest had already gone up in smoke according to a report from the prefecture at 9:30 p.m.
The fire “continues its course towards the north, spreading an impressive smoke on the valley”.
"A hundred hectares are threatened" but "the fire is located in an area that is not easily accessible and does not threaten a residential area," added the prefecture.
Forest fires: Update 9:30 p.m.
📍 Since last night, several fires have started in the #Jura.
1/ Rupt sector (municipality of VESCLES) - 112 hectares burned
2/ VOSBLES-VALFIN / CORNOT sector - 150 hectares burned pic.twitter.com/VUhJfSHDXa
– Prefect of Jura (@Prefet39) August 10, 2022
At the end of the morning, another disaster broke out in the municipalities of Vosbles-Valfin and Cornod, about twenty kilometers further west.
About 150 ha of vegetation burned and about thirty inhabitants of a hamlet who had been evacuated "as a preventive measure" were able to return to their homes.
A third outbreak of fire was quickly brought under control in Plaisia.
"In total, 120 firefighters are mobilized, from Sdis du Jura reinforced by the departments of Ain, Côte d'Or, Doubs, Haut-Rhin, Moselle, Saône-et-Loire and Yonne,” said the prefecture.
15 ha burned in the Vosges
In the Vosges, a fire ravaged Wednesday 15 hectares of forest between the municipalities of Mortagne and Brouvelieures, announced the prefecture of the department, adding that a hundred inhabitants of a district of Mortagne had been evacuated.
In Maine-et-Loire, more than 1,400 ha devastated
Started on Monday, the main fire in Maine-et-Loire, in Baugé-en-Anjou, had burned more than 1,200 ha on Wednesday morning.
In the evening, the mayor of the town assured that the fire was "finally fixed", indicating that 1,540 ha had gone up in smoke.
"The fire is contained without being controlled," announced the department's Codis earlier in the day.
The lack of progress is due to the action on Wednesday of land and air means, in particular Dash which sprayed the sector until the beginning of the afternoon.
A 3rd day ends as tiring as the first 2.
It ends on a positive note.
The fire is finally set!
1540 ha destroyed!
Thank you to the 600 firefighters, farmers, volunteers and residents for their solidarity!
pic.twitter.com/FYQsJ8sFWV
— Philippe Chalopin (@chalopinbauge) August 10, 2022
In Beaulieu-sur-Layon, a town located south of Angers in the Layon wine region, a smaller fire “continues to spread” after resuming during the day, we said from the same source.
More than 80 ha burned there.
In total, “504 firefighters were mobilized on these two fires”, indicated the Codis.
In addition, several simultaneous outbreaks of fire occurred, and all of the department's resources were mobilized during the day.
The Minister for Ecological Transition, Christophe Béchu, visited the department on Wednesday.
“This fire is the largest the territory has ever known, and already 1,400 ha of forest have burned,” he lamented on Twitter at the end of the day.
291 ha covered in the Drôme
The forest and vegetation fire which broke out on Friday evening in the Drôme made little progress on Wednesday and the burned area now amounts to 291 ha, the firefighters said.
Caused by lightning and located on the Diois massif in the town of Romeyer, the fire "is not yet fixed", declared Lieutenant-Colonel Ramon Navarro, senior management officer of Sdis (departmental fire and relief) of the Drôme.
On Wednesday morning, the area impacted by the fire had reached 286 ha, having covered more than 65 ha overnight.
“There was very little wind and the system in place with the various actions carried out made it possible to stem the spread but we are still very careful on one of the last three parts of the site,” he explained.
By nightfall, firefighters are indeed expecting a resumption of the wind, in gusts, which should blow from south to north.
It is on the northern part that the fire is not really contained, according to the officer.
No dwelling was evacuated by the 320 firefighters of the device, who were busy during the day "to surround the fire" to prevent it from reaching the municipalities and the surrounding hamlets.
Lozère / Aveyron: a man indicted
A man implicated in Monday's fire which ravaged 700 ha on the edge of Lozère and Aveyron has been indicted for "involuntary destruction by fire" and placed under judicial supervision, the prosecution said on Wednesday. of Mende.
According to the firefighters, the fire was started by an agricultural machine, one element of which, by scraping the tar from the road, caused sparks which set fire to the vegetation along a departmental road in Lozère, near Massegros, before extending to the neighboring department of Aveyron.
The deputy prosecutor did not wish to specify the identity or the profession of the man under investigation, while stressing that there is "only one defendant" in this case, for which she opened an investigation.
Calling for the greatest vigilance in professional and leisure activities, she stressed that even if one starts a fire unintentionally, one risks criminal prosecution for lack of precaution and prudence.
The penalty in this case is 5 years in prison.
About 3,000 campers and residents of two villages in Aveyron had to be evacuated on Tuesday as a precaution because of this fire which stopped progressing without being brought under control.