The French Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, communicated this Monday that the large fire declared in the department of Gironde, which has already burned 42,000 hectares, remains "stable," although the firefighting teams have not yet managed to gain control over it.
"The fire is stabilized, which means it has not spread during the night, but it is not controlled and remains active," he pointed out in an appearance before the media, emphasizing the need to be "cautious" because the fronts could reactivate at "any moment."
Nuñez has asked the public to avoid traveling to the Gironde area and has warned of a rise in temperatures starting this Tuesday, as part of a new heatwave that will affect a large part of the country. "The situation remains unfavorable," he stressed.
The Interior official also detailed that, since the start of the season, 13,566 fires or hotspots have been recorded, with 116,085 hectares devastated. In 2022, during the entire summer period, the balance was 70,000 hectares burned, according to data released by the French channel BFM TV.
At the same time, President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to travel this Monday afternoon to Gironde to meet with the personnel working on the ground. The department's prefecture reported last night that 84 firefighters have been injured in the firefighting efforts and that the flames have forced the evacuation of 220,000 people.