A fire on an unprecedented scale continues to spread towards the east of the Gironde and the Bordeaux metropolitan area, fuelled by a strong westerly wind. The Prefect of Gironde, Sophie Brocas, described the situation as “XXL” and “unpredictable” during a press conference on Friday evening, announcing that nearly 19,000 hectares have already been ravaged and 100 buildings destroyed.
Evacuations in eight towns in the Bordeaux metropolitan area
Residents of eight towns in the fire’s path must prepare to evacuate. An FR-Alert message will be sent to their mobile phones to signal the start of the evacuation. The towns affected are Saint-Hélène, Salaunes, Lanton, Audenge, Saint-Médard-en-Jalles, Saint-Aubin-de-Médoc, Saint-Jean-d’Illac and Martignas-sur-Jalle (Bordeaux Airport). Evacuations from Audenge and Salaunes are already underway, and further evacuations are expected in several towns near Bordeaux.
In total, 110,000 people have already been evacuated in Gironde since the fires began. Local authorities, in coordination with the Gironde fire service, are methodically organising these operations to ensure the safety of the population.
National mobilisation and military reinforcements
In response to the emergency, President Emmanuel Macron has called on the armed forces to “mobilise to provide maximum support to the civil protection services”. The Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, activated an inter-ministerial crisis unit on Friday evening at 10.00 pm, bringing together the Ministries of the Interior, the Armed Forces, Health, Transport and the Environment. Laurent Nuñez, Minister for the Interior, proposed the requisitioning of military resources to support the fire-fighting efforts.
Firefighters, backed by national reinforcements, are working tirelessly to contain the spread of the fire, which remains particularly dangerous due to the weather conditions. To follow the progress of the fires in real time, please consult our map of active fires.
If you witness a fire breaking out, please report it immediately via our reporting platform.