Slowed down by the action of the firefighters and by a wind "
loaded with humidity
", the fire which ravaged nearly 3,700 hectares of vegetation and forest in Saumos in Gironde, was "
contained but not fixed
" Wednesday evening September 14, causing a new "
preventive
" evacuation
of a thousand inhabitants.
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“
We are on a contained fire on its perimeter for the moment.
It is not fixed, it is contained
, ”said the sub-prefect of Lesparre-Médoc, Fabrice Thibier during a press briefing on Wednesday evening.
“
We have a wind which is loaded with humidity this afternoon and which has surely led to the spread being weak
”, he added, warning against “
many resumptions of fire, on land which are green, in the forest, not on burnt areas
” and against “
a wind which continues to blow in gusts (...), a powerful and sustained wind
”, expected for the night.
Read alsoIs the Gironde fire exceptional for the season?
Nearly 2,000 residents evacuated in total
In total, 1,840 inhabitants, including a thousand evacuated during the day on Wednesday, had to urgently leave their homes in the two municipalities of Saumos and Sainte-Hélène, in this area of southern Médoc, between the seaside resort of Lacanau, on the Atlantic coast, and the Bordeaux conurbation.
“
I admit that we are not very serene all the same.
It's getting closer every day, with the winds turning so I don't know what it's going to give, so we're stressing out
," Corinne, a 45-year-old resident of Saumos, evacuated from her home, told AFP.
Firefighters in the fight
Go to slideshow (5)
Throughout the day, a thousand firefighters helped by teams from the Defense of Forests Against Fires (DFCI) and by six canadairs, three Dash planes and two water bomber helicopters dealt with "
21 resumptions of fire
", to slow down this fire which is ravaging this sparsely populated area, but "
did not progress towards Saint Helena
" on Wednesday.
A Canadair in action, this Wednesday.
SDIS 33 / REUTERS
Since Monday, 3,700 hectares have been burned, in addition to some 30,000 already ravaged this summer by three gigantic fires in the department, in La Teste-de-Buch and Landiras twice.
“
We still have a very severe drought at the level of the forest massif
”, pointed out the departmental director of the emergency services, Marc Vermeulen earlier in the day.
At the village hall of Porge, a few kilometers from Saumos, around twenty evacuees were fed and cared for by volunteers who have been taking turns since the morning.
“
At first, we didn't want to evacuate, but when a gust of wind brought the flames back and I started to have embers everywhere, suddenly I preferred to evacuate.
There, I'm a little in shock, I no longer have a home
, ”says Marc Cloet, a resident of Saumos.
"
Most were welcomed into their families in other towns, with friends, in local lodgings
", added Lionel Montillaud, the mayor of Sainte-Hélène where 20 homes were evacuated and a house burned down.
The damage is considerable
Go to slideshow (5)
In the south in the region, in the Basque Country, a fire broke out on the border massif of La Rhune, on hard-to-reach mountainsides, mobilizing around forty firefighters and a water bomber helicopter that came as reinforcements from neighboring Spain.
The area affected is not yet estimated.
During the day, two other fire starts also burned ten hectares in Saugon, 50km north of Bordeaux and should "
not evolve too much
", according to the Gironde firefighters.
” SEE ALSO – “
I no longer have my home
”: in Gironde, the inhabitants killed by a new fire
Privileged criminal track
"
The weather conditions remain difficult, with the persistence of wind, heat and drought
", specifies the prefecture of Gironde, "
in vigilance orange forest fires
" and "
in vigilance yellow storm
" since midday.
A judicial inquiry has been opened into the origin of the fire.
"
No track is ruled out even if the criminal thesis is privileged
", according to the Bordeaux prosecutor's office.
“
An investigation team is on site.
All options are on the table.
You have to be careful about the rumors that are going around
, ”said the sub-prefect for his part.
At the end of August, a 19-year-old student, volunteer firefighter in Gironde, was indicted and imprisoned for "
destruction by fire
", suspected of 31 fire starts in the north of Médoc.
This new blaze occurred in a context of high heat, with a monthly record recorded Monday in Bordeaux (37.5 degrees), unheard of in September since 1987 according to Météo-France.
It brings back sad memories to the inhabitants: a gigantic fire (3500 hectares) had already ravaged the area in July 1989, between Lacanau and Le Porge.
SEE ALSO -
Fire in Gironde: "the risk continues", says the sub-prefect