France is experiencing an extreme situation due to the fires that are ravaging the southwest of the country. According to the latest data provided by the French Government, there are 220,000 people evacuated. The fire, which originated last Wednesday in the Bay of Arcachon (Gironde), is classified as a megafire and is located just 15 kilometers from Bordeaux.
At the moment it remains out of control and has burned 42,000 hectares, which has forced the A63 motorway, which connects with Spain, to be partially cut in the south-north direction, while in the north-south direction it has been closed between the Bordeaux ring road and junction 23, in Marcheprime.
The virulent fire has caused a total of 75 firefighters to be injured in the extinguishing efforts and it is estimated that 240 houses have been destroyed by the flames. “There will be no possible return in the evacuated territorial entities, even if the fire passes by, until the fire is perimeter,” said the prefect (government delegate) of the Gironde, Sophie Brocas.
Smoke reaches the Balearic Islands
Likewise, railway traffic is interrupted and the smoke is already reaching Mallorca and Menorca. The fire worsened during the night, due to the combination of two factors “that fed each other, the dry vegetation and the wind”, as detailed by the prefecture (government delegation) in a statement.
The wind gusts have far exceeded 40 kilometers per hour, late on Saturday “a pyrocumulonimbus phenomenon” could be observed, a phenomenon by which the fire turns into an “unpredictable” fire storm.
1,500 firefighters are working to extinguish it, supported by 2,500 soldiers, 1,200 police and gendarmes, as well as 18 aerial means and an A400 military transport plane, which can drop up to 20 tons of retardant product in each discharge. The French minister, Sébastien Lecornu, decided to advance its use due to the crisis situation that the country is going through.
The seriousness of the situation forces the final stage of the Tour to be shortened
France is also awaiting two other fires. On the one hand, the department of Les Landes continues to fight the fire that originated in Biscarrosse, although there the flames have not been as voracious and the burned area does not exceed 3,600 hectares. Furthermore, 3,000 of the 30,000 evacuees have already been able to return to their homes there.
On the other hand, in Var, a department in the southeast, the fire has reignited. At the moment it has burned 3,250 hectares and 2,000 people have been evacuated. There are also active outbreaks in Upper Corsica and Hautes Alpes. “The absolute priority of the State continues to be the protection of the population, I make a new call for everyone to maintain the same vigilance,” requested the Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez.
The exceptional severity of the fires has led the organizers of the Tour de France and the French authorities to make the decision to shorten the route of the final stage of the competition, which concludes this Sunday in Paris, because the majority of security personnel are assigned to the battle against the fire.
