The country has been facing several fires since the first weekend of August, reinforced by a new heat wave which is accentuating this weekend.
On Wednesday, before a trip to Aveyron, the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin indicated that he wanted to "strengthen the resources mobilized" with "
more than 1,000 firefighters, 9 planes, 2 water bomber helicopters
" in order to fight against fires which are progressing rapidly in several departments.
Le Figaro
takes stock.
Gironde: 6200 hectares burned, Elisabeth Borne expected during the day
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 on Wednesday evening its "
progress
" in the south of the Gironde.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne will travel to Gironde with Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, to emphasize that the government's mobilization is "
total
".
According to the Élysée, President Emmanuel Macron also exchanged with the Prime Minister on Wednesday afternoon to "
take stock of the situation
".
In 24 hours, at a galloping pace, the fire which broke out in Saint-Magne on Tuesday afternoon has already destroyed 6,200 hectares of forest, in the Hostens sector, on the border with the Landes department, also overtaken by flames.
“
Very vigorous
”, according to Martin Guespereau, delegate prefect for defense and security in Gironde, it was Wednesday evening “
still progressing
”, south and east of Landiras, the area already scarred by a gigantic fire in July .
“
The fight is extremely fiery (...) What about the night?
The fire has accustomed us to surprise us
, ”said the delegate prefect during a press briefing, under the ballet of helicopters.
Firefighters continue their fight against the flames in Saint-Magne, in South Gironde.
Philippe LOPEZ / AFP
"
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 left two lightly injured and "
one more seriously injured
" among the firefighters, according to Martin Guespereau.
Seventeen homes and two fire engines were destroyed.
The A63 motorway from Bordeaux to Bayonne has been cut in both directions at Saint-Geours-de-Maremme, and the dynamics of the fire, very mobile, has required the evacuation since Tuesday evening of 10,000 people, including 2,000 in the Landes, as well as an Ehpad in this department.
As in July, communal halls were opened to collect residents who had to leave their homes, sometimes for the second time.
Maine-et-Loire: the main fire not yet under control
Started Monday, the main fire in Maine-et-Loire, in Baugé-en-Anjou, was still not under control early Wednesday evening, said the department's Codis.
The Minister for the Ecological Transition, Christophe Béchu, paid a visit on Wednesday afternoon to the emergency services in Baugé.
“
Across the whole of France, more than 40,000 hectares have burned and it is only August 10.
This figure is already more than twice as high as a normal full year
, ”said the minister in particular.
"
As far as our gaze goes from a weather point of view, we have no sign of an improvement that would allow us to count on rains to recharge part
" of the groundwater, underlined Christophe Béchu.
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On Baugé, in the northeast of the department, where more than 1,200 hectares had already burned on Wednesday morning, “
the fire is contained without being controlled
”, specified the Codis.
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.
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 80ha 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 fire started on Monday "
in the sector of the municipality of Baugé-en-Anjou, a somewhat special sector, because it is an exclusion zone: which means that neither the population nor the emergency services can enter because there is storage of ammunition from the Second World War
, ”said the Codis.
The fire ravaging the forest of Pugle, a forest massif, has many herbaceous plants including ferns which help to spread the fire.
Drôme: 291 hectares burned, the fire not yet under control
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 hectares, the firefighters said.
Caused by lightning and located on the Diois massif in the town of Romeyer, the fire "
has changed very little during the day but is not yet fixed
," Lieutenant-Colonel Ramon Navarro told AFP. , senior management officer of the SDIS (departmental fire and rescue service) of Drôme.
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On Wednesday morning, the area affected by the fire had reached 286 hectares, having covered more than 65 hectares overnight.
“
There was very little wind and the system in place with the various actions carried out made it possible to curb the spread but we are still very proud of 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.
Three sectors were particularly watched: the northern sector, the southern sector and the forward (western) sector.
Tactical fires were practiced to put the fire on already burned ground to prevent it from spreading and a heavy helicopter, which made 90 drops of 4000 liters of water on Tuesday, was on Wednesday.
Monday evening, a Gard firefighter who came as reinforcements was burned in the face.
Two other firefighters, one from Gard also, as well as a Drôme, inhaled smoke.
“
All three were able to leave the hospital
” on Tuesday, assured the prefect of Drôme in a press release Tuesday evening.
The RD 742 is still blocked by the gendarmerie.
Jura: a hundred hectares of forest and brush gone up in smoke
Several fires ravaged nearly 110 hectares of vegetation in the Jura on Wednesday, placed at the drought “
crisis
” level since August 1, around thirty inhabitants of a hamlet to be evacuated, announced the prefecture in a press release.
In the sector of the municipality of Vescles, 70 hectares of brush and forests had already gone up in smoke in the middle of the afternoon.
The fire “
continues its course towards the North, spreading an impressive smoke on the valley
”, indicated the prefecture in a press release.
"
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
", she added, specifying that two departmental roads have been "
cut in order to facilitate the intervention of the fire brigade
" and that "
electricity cuts could also occur in the sector
".
At the end of the morning, another disaster broke out in the municipalities of Vosbles-Valfin and Cornod, about twenty kilometers further west.
Some 40 hectares of vegetation burned and around thirty inhabitants of a hamlet were evacuated "
as a preventive measure
", according to the prefecture.
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A third outbreak of fire was quickly brought under control in Plaisia.
Firefighters from eight departments in eastern France were mobilized as reinforcements to bring the number of firefighters to 150 "
on site by the end of the day
", still according to the Jura prefecture which activated its center departmental operations.
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.
Nearly 80 firefighters are mobilized to fight against this fire as well as 30 gendarmes "
in support
" and a reconnaissance helicopter from the gendarmerie, specified the prefecture in a press release.
A crisis unit has been opened at the prefecture and firefighters from five neighboring departments are expected as reinforcements, she said.
