More than 250,000 people have had to leave their homes due to the voracious fires that are ravaging the southwest of France, especially in the department of Gironde. Its capital, Bordeaux, is not yet under evacuation order, although it has already begun to reorganize and send forces to secure the western area, one of the major hubs of the country's Science and Defense industries.
The Ministry of Armed Forces has reported the deployment of "experts and resources" with the aim of ensuring the safety of industrial facilities —including powder and missile factories— spread across the west of the region, now threatened by the large fire in Gironde. This fire is devastating the surroundings of the Arcachon basin and authorities are preparing for the rise in temperatures expected for next Tuesday.
The fire in Gironde has forced the evacuation of about 220,000 people and has burned around 42,000 hectares, while another 30,000 people have been evacuated in the neighboring region of Les Landes, to the south, where the flames have destroyed 3,000 hectares. In total, the fires have ravaged around 100,000 hectares in France since the beginning of the year, an unprecedented figure.
The evacuation of the city of Bordeaux, for the moment, is completely ruled out, as reiterated this morning by Mayor Thomas Cazenave. "The fire is on the outskirts but is not advancing on the western flank of the city," he stated at noon before reporters. At that moment, the fire front was still located 25 kilometers from the city and 15 from Martignas-sur-Jalle, the most exposed peripheral community.
The prefect of Gironde, Sophie Broca, has warned that the situation is "incredibly serious" and has communicated that she will not authorize "the return of evacuees to the communities or the resumption of work activities" at least during Monday "until the fire is under control" because "exceptional circumstances require exceptional measures."
According to what has been explained, the main concern is the new rise in temperatures. "Starting Tuesday, unfortunately, temperatures will rise again and we will return to very high minimums, of 38 and 40 degrees," the prefect has indicated. "This is a factor that could, and I use the conditional, aggravate the phenomenon," she has warned. According to the Prefecture, 240 homes have been destroyed in Gironde. Although no civilian casualties have been recorded, 75 firefighters have been injured, ten of whom had to be evacuated.