Fabien Lainé, mayor of Sanguinet, in the French department of Landes, pointed out this Sunday that the fire declared in the vicinity of Biscarrosse, which has already devastated 3,600 hectares, is "better contained," although it cannot yet be considered controlled.
"In our municipality, the day before yesterday afternoon, we had to evacuate, very quickly, approximately 40% of the area; considering that we are in the middle of the summer season, this included vacationers, which represented a figure of between 7,000 and 8,000 people," he explained in an interview granted to the BFM TV network.
Lainé expressed his confidence that some of the evacuees "may return this very afternoon." "During the night, the fire barely advanced a few hectares, which actually represents a progress," added the mayor.
The fire forced the evacuation of more than 30,000 people, both locals and residents of neighboring municipalities and several campsites in the area, a very crowded tourist spot in the south of France. In Biscarrosse, about 3,000 people have already been able to return to their homes.
The flames that generate the most concern are now located in the department of Gironde, where the fire has burned more than 42,000 hectares, equivalent to four times the area of Paris. These hotspots threaten the metropolitan area of Bordeaux and have forced the interruption of rail traffic on several routes south of the city.
About 55,000 inhabitants of Marcheprime, Le Barp, Biganos, Mios, and Cestas, located about 20 kilometers from Bordeaux, had to leave their homes during the early morning, raising the total number of evacuees in Gironde to 220,000 since Wednesday.
The authorities of Gironde have also ordered the closure of a stretch of 60 kilometers of the A63 highway towards Spain. The front has shifted southeast and has ceased to be convective, but it remains uncontrolled and maintains a high level of danger.
Despite the fire being about 15 kilometers from the metropolitan area of Bordeaux, the evacuation of the city "is not on the table" for now, confirmed its mayor, Thomas Cazenave, in statements to the media.
"There is no plan to evacuate Bordeaux. The fire is further south. It remains on the outskirts of the metropolitan area, but it is not advancing on the western flank of the metropolis. It is further south and, naturally, we are staying very alert," he indicated, emphasizing that the institutions are ready for "any scenario."
Countries like Portugal, Romania, Sweden, and Germany have sent reinforcements to France following Paris's activation of the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism. The magnitude of the fires has led the Government to deploy a military transport aircraft A400M, capable of dropping several tons of water per second.
SITUATION "VERY UNFAVORABLE"
The Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, has described the past night as a "difficult night" and has warned that the outlook remains "very unfavorable," especially in Gironde, where 2,500 firefighters are still operational, including a contingent that arrived from Switzerland.
Nuñez specified that 1,500 military personnel and about 1,200 police and gendarmes are participating in evacuation tasks and relief efforts, while 450 volunteers from various associations are in charge of distributing food among the affected.
"The absolute priority of the State remains the protection of the population. I call once again for greater individual vigilance: in a context where weather conditions remain particularly unfavorable, any recklessness can have dramatic consequences," he emphasized.
In addition to the fires in Landes and Gironde, there is the front of Gros Bessillon, in the department of Var, where the fire has devastated 4,500 hectares. Authorities have warned of a high risk of reactivation of the hotspots due to the wind.