Following the fire, a particularly worrying discovery was made in the commune of Le Porge, in Gironde. Shells dating from the Second World War were unearthed in two neighbourhoods, Plein Soleil and Le Ferron, forcing the authorities to carry out mine-clearance operations.
Over 400 pieces of ammunition found intact
The fires, which ravaged part of the town, revealed the presence of hundreds of pieces of buried ordnance. According to the Civil Protection Service’s Mine Clearance Sub-Directorate, more than 400 explosive devices were identified: 300 armour-piercing shells and 100 mortar rounds. Around a hundred of them were destroyed by the flames, but the rest remained intact, requiring immediate action by bomb disposal experts.
The security operations, carried out with the utmost care, enabled this ammunition to be collected and transported to a specialist centre in Bordeaux. It will be rendered safe in the coming days at a dedicated site operated by the Civil Protection Agency.
Their intervention prevented any further accidents and paved the way for the neutralisation operations.
To keep up to date with the latest developments regarding the current fires in Gironde, please visit our lighting plan. You can also find the latest information on risks in the department on our page dedicated to the Gironde.