The Landiras fire flared up again near the village of Saint-Magne yesterday at midday, spreading beyond the area where it had been contained, requiring the deployment of 500 firefighters – including reinforcements from other departments – supported by water-bombing aircraft from the civil protection service.
>> Fire currently burning in Gironde: Follow our live coverage by clicking here.
The area burnt in the Hostens region is 6,000 hectares. The fire is raging fiercely and has spread to the Landes department.
The towns of Hostens and Saint-Magne, and parts of Belin-Beliet, have been evacuated (around 3,800 people). The evacuation of the village of Belin (around 2,000 people) is currently underway. The fire has destroyed 16 houses in several areas of the municipality of Belin-Beliet.
Fortunately, no one was injured.
The fire front is moving towards the A63 (motorway towards Bayonne–Bordeaux). At present, the motorway operator has not reported any reduced visibility, but as an immediate measure, the speed limit has been reduced to 90 km/h and traffic has been restricted to two lanes out of three in the Bayonne-Bordeaux direction.
Depending on how the fire develops, a closure of the motorway is being considered, with diversions via the A62, A65 and A64. The prefecture has activated its Departmental Operations Centre.
Martin GUESPEREAU, the Deputy Prefect for Defence and Security in the south-west region, is once again asking local residents not to visit the various incident sites so as not to hinder the work of the emergency services. He urges everyone to exercise the utmost caution and reminds them that the entire Gironde department is on RED alert for the risk of forest fires due to the weather conditions.
GIRONDE / LANDES – Update at 9 am
— Forest Fires (@FeuxdeForet_FR) 10 August 2022
📈 6,000 hectares burnt, including 200 in the #Landes this morning.
🚨 "Very, very unfavourable" conditions in the Hostens area due to shifting winds
👨👩👦👦 5,800 people evacuated in the South-#Gironde.
📸 D.R./@SecCivileFrance pic.twitter.com/y0IQYj1HaM