Flames threaten again France’s Gironde region (southwest) has already experienced a wave of fires in July. Since Tuesday night, a large fire has been raging in the area of the town of Hostens, about 60 kilometers south of Bordeaux. call them now they burned about 6,800 hectares, the province of Gironde reported Thursday morning, and they continue to grow. French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Germany, Greece, Poland, Romania, Austria and Italy will help French firefighters to put out this huge fire. “France has acted Civil protection mechanism of the European Union against fires,” said the leader.
Near 1,100 firefighters deployed Local officials said to contain the flames. They promised “additional reinforcements” to be added to Canadair aircraft, water bombing helicopters and other vehicles used. Despite the size of the fire no deaths so far only three firefighters were injured, two of them lightly. Almost 10,000 people were evacuated Due to a fire on Wednesday that headed the French A63 motorway and caused the road to be blocked in both directions from exit 9 at the height of the municipality of Saint-Geourgs-de-Maremne.
The flames also affected traffic at the nearby Biriatou border crossing. i run, although in the Basque Country it is about 200 kilometers from the fire zone. The Ertzaintza traffic service reported this Thursday morning that trucks are prohibited from passing through this point on the Spanish-French border. However, it announced that it would reopen at noon. A similar situation has already occurred on Wednesday, which also Five kilometer hold on the AP-8. Due to the severity of the fire, it cannot be excluded that it will be repeated.
Burning hectares record in France
“The situation is very unfavourable,” said Colonel Arnaud Mendousse, head of fire and emergency communications for the Gironde department. In fact, the progression of flames, heat wave temperatures in this section where maximum temperatures are recorded this Thursday Close to 40 degrees. Something unusual in the southwest of France.
Another wave of fire In July it had burned 14,000 hectares in this same area., is generally not affected by such fires. According to data from European satellites, this year already Burned 50,000 hectares of Gaul. Although the summer is more than five weeks away, this figure is three times higher than the fire-affected area in the neighboring country compared to the average of the last ten years. It represents a record for France.
“We are strengthening our capabilities and acting on all fronts to fight better in the future,” said the Prime Minister. Elizabeth BorneTraveling southwest this Thursday with the Minister of the Interior, Gerald Darmanin.
Given the current fire wave, this is also Britain, aveyron (mid-south) or drome (Southeast), Executive received criticism lack of preparation and did not provide enough tools Firefighters face a 2022 marked by drought and high temperatures, both linked to climate change. There are about 50,000 professional firefighters in France, in addition to approximately 200,000 volunteer reserves. The number of French firefighters has fallen over the past decade due to austerity policies (excluding covid-19) and restraints on public spending.