A major forest fire is currently burning in the commune of Mano in the north of the Landes department.
The emergency services are on the scene.
On Sunday 31 May, shortly before 6.00 pm, a fire was reported in the commune of Mano in the Landes department.
When the emergency services arrived, the fire brigade were not faced with a single fire but with three separate fires in the same town.
The initial units were quickly reinforced by others, and the number of forest fire units deployed to the scene rose to 40 within the first hour.
Wildfires are spreading rapidly, and the initial assessment at 8.00 pm indicates that 60 hectares of vegetation have been burnt.
The fires are so intense, despite the retardant being dropped by the Civil Protection Service’s Dash-8, that some homes have had to be evacuated as a precaution.
At 9.00 pm, no fewer than 269 firefighters – including 160 from neighbouring departments – were battling a fire which, at that time, had already ravaged 150 hectares of vegetation. Fifteen homes had been evacuated.