Firefighters continue their fight against fires this Sunday, in particular in Aveyron and Gironde, in the Landes and in Brittany.
If the freshness and humidity brought by the rains and thunderstorms arriving from the West will put an end to the heat wave over most of France, they could become counterproductive if flooding ensues, according to the civil security.
Gales, too, “
could restart the fire
”, according to Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Mendousse, spokesperson for the Gironde firefighters.
Aveyron: 500 additional hectares burned, 1000 people evacuated
In Aveyron, the fire, which seemed Saturday around noon "
being circumscribed and soon, extinguished ", experienced a "
virulent
" recovery
in the afternoon, according to the prefecture.
In Mostuéjouls, about twenty kilometers northeast of Millau, an additional 500 hectares have burned, bringing the total number of hectares destroyed since Monday to 1,260.
At least 1,000 people were evacuated from the village and six nearby hamlets.
"
Reinforcements from at least three different departments arrived around one o'clock in the morning
" on Sunday, bringing the total number of firefighters on site to 600.
Since Monday, this fire, which did not cause any injuries, had already caused the evacuation of nearly 3,000 people.
They had since been authorized to return to their homes or their place of accommodation when it came to vacationers.
On Wednesday, a man residing in Lozère had been indicted for "
involuntary destruction by fire
".
He is suspected of having accidentally started the fire, when a metal part of his trailer caused sparks by scraping the ground, setting fire to the vegetation on the side of the road, on the edge of the Aveyron and the Lozere.
In addition, to avoid the risk of fire, the prefecture of Aveyron has notably temporarily banned sporting events in natural spaces, pyrotechnic shows or "
any hunting or destruction activity by firearm taking place in the middle of nature
" .
.
The fire in
"
pause
" in
Gironde and contained in the Landes
A month after the two gigantic fires of Landiras and Teste-de-Buch in Gironde, the resumption of fire of "
Landiras-2
", as the firefighters call it, is "
in the pause phase
", announced the prefecture and the department firefighters on Saturday morning.
Its progress is "
now limited
" after ravaging 7400 hectares of pines.
According to Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Mendousse of the departmental fire and rescue service of Gironde, joined by AFP, “
the situation has changed to favorable
”.
The prefect of Gironde Fabienne Buccio was however worried about the arrival of "
dry storms
" expected in the night from Saturday to Sunday.
Storms “
without rain, with lightning that will fall to the ground.
This is not a good thing
”, she warned, recalling that “
the fire is not fixed, but held
” since Thursday.
Firefighters from Europe and Polynesia in support
On the ground in Gironde, a thousand firefighters are still mobilized, including many reinforcements from several European countries.
77 Austrian firefighters arrived on Friday evening, joining the German and Romanian firefighters already deployed on the mission.
The last group, 146 Polish firefighters, arrived on Friday afternoon, bringing the European aid contingent to 361 firefighters.
To these reinforcements are added 2 Italian Canadair planes and 2 other Greeks which began their mission on Friday.
In all, “
Landiras 2
” caused the evacuation of 8,275 people, including several hundred residents of Ehpad or medico-social structures, reports
Sud Ouest.
On Saturday, the authorities reopened the A63 on Saturday, which connects Bordeaux to Spain, closed since Wednesday for a portion of 20 km.
Ongoing fires in the Jura, Brittany and Drôme
In the Jura, the fire resumed on Saturday in the middle of the day in the Vescles and Cernon sector, when it had been declared fixed in the morning.
150 additional hectares have been reduced to ashes, bringing the total land burned to more than 800 hectares since Tuesday in the department.
Nearly 300 firefighters are on the scene as well as aerial extinguishers.
In Brittany, the mythical forest of Brocéliande, west of Rennes, saw nearly 400 hectares go up in smoke.
But the fire has not "
progressed
" since Saturday, according to the prefecture.
The Monts d'Arrée, already hard hit with more than 2000 hectares lost since the beginning of the summer, were the scene of several "
unfixed
" fires on Saturday for a total of 200 hectares.
Two Swedish water bombers, Air Tractor AT 802 planes, carried out 42 drops there during the day according to the Finistère prefecture.
In the Drôme, the forest and vegetation fire that broke out on August 5 is "
still not fixed
" and the burned area now reaches 378 hectares.
A record year in terms of hectares burned
In France, three times more hectares burned than the annual average for the past ten years, and the year has been a record in the European Union since records began in 2006. Even the Jura, with its normally more moderate climate, has been struck by two fires.
Faced with this "
exceptional
" situation, several large French companies - Carrefour, Orange, EDF, Axa, Auchan and GRDF have taken measures to facilitate the release of their volunteer firefighters, responding to the call from the Minister of the Interior. Gerald Darmanin.
Friday evening, the minister also asked the prefects to "
be particularly vigilant
" or even to cancel the traditional fireworks of August 15 because of "
increased risk of fires
".
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