The fires returned to France in full force. Images of the fire in Gironde They are Dante’s. 6,000 people have been evacuated and 1,000 firefighters are fighting the virulent flames. The balance sheet: over six thousand hectares burned in 24 hours. And about 16 houses destroyed in one city.

“A power of fire completely abnormal“Civil security explained, alerting the population to evacuate.

There are also fires in Aveyron, Drome, Isere, Landes and Maine et Loire. A high-risk day in the west of the country, when people travel to go on vacation.

The evacuation of the town of Belin Béliet was a wise decision. The 16 houses in the town they were destroyed by fire. Hostens is now under threat, where the 1,500 inhabitants were evacuated at midnight.

a thousand firefighters

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin reported not only the reinforcement of the firefighters but also the dispatch of 9 planes and 2 helicopters, which bombarding with waterin the battle against the flames.

The fire brigade intervened to the “tactical fires” to create “plug” zones and stop the advance of the fire. A truck and three light vehicles were destroyed but no firefighters were injured in the vicinity of Hostens.

The fire started again in Landira, the same area as the fire two weeks ago. The highway between Bordeaux and Bayonne was cut as a precaution against the advance of the fire. Smoke is already on the road and obscures the driver’s vision.

Martin Guespereau, Gironde prefect delegate for the defense and security of the south-west area, has announced the fight against those who unleash the fires. Of the 49 fires in the west, some have broken out deliberately.

“We have to dissuade them and find them. We have time pressure. You don’t have to have the pressure of arsonists, “she explained.

“We are facing a day of great risk. The weather is extremely unfavorable. Our first goal in this fight is to save lives ”, explained the prefect.

In Gironde, winds of 35 kilometers per hour are expected to accelerate the fire. I am the worst enemy under current circumstances. The thermometer has risen to 40 degrees and the area is hit by drought, which is advancing in France. The area is even hotter than when the July fires broke out.

Global warming

These unexpected and violent fires are a direct reflection of climate change, which is being seen in Europe this summer like never before.

“We have to fight global warming in the face of fires,” explained meteorologist Jean Jouzel, vice president of Giec. “What we are experiencing today in terms of escalating fires is what our community is experiencing after fifteen years. this kind of drama they will repeat more and more often, “he explained.

Hostens mayor Jean Louis Dartiailh describes it as “a nightmare”which is repeated for the second time in one summer.

“Most of my friends have gone to a friend’s house or a relative’s house. They come from the suffering of two successive fires. They had to give it all up again, ”she said.

“We fought the fire for three consecutive weeks and this fire destroys the part of the community that was not touched. It’s exhausting, “she said.

The president of the Gironde department, Jean Luc Gleyze. prepares for really tough times in his region.

“These fires I’m not a surprise“, He says.

The reason is the subsoil: the soil is composed of peat and other combustible materials, which allow fires to last longer. humidity rate it is very weak in the areathe dry vegetation and the winds, very changeable.

Macron on alert

The Elysée reported that President Emmanuel Macron is monitoring the situation in the Gironde “very closely”, during his “student holidays” in the fort of Brégancon, on the Côte d’Azur.

“He continues to be in contact with the prime minister and is in contact with the interior minister,” the presidential spokesman said. Every two hours the head of state is informed of the fire situation.

Paris, correspondent

ap