In this sector located about forty kilometers south of Bordeaux, 2,100 hectares of pines went up in smoke and 1,600 hectares burned in the forest of La Teste-de-Buch, in the Bassin d’Arcachon, very close to the famous dune du Pilat, exceptionally closed to the public.
In La Teste, the situation is «still uncertain because of the difficulties of access» and 60 people were evacuated from a housing estate in Cazaux, a village in this very large town, said the prefecture.
During the night of Wednesday to Tuesday, some 6,000 people had been evacuated from campsites in the La Teste sector, where the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin went late Tuesday afternoon.
According to the firefighters, the fact that this used forest is planted on a dune cordon and is not maintained makes operations difficult, in addition to the changing wind and the heat.
These fires, which did not cause any casualties, were triggered at the start of the heat wave episode which has affected France since Monday, mainly in the west and south of the country. The Gironde is kept in orange «heat wave» vigilance by Météo-France.
According to the Gironde prefecture, the mercury could rise to 38°C on Thursday in the department, which has also been placed on orange «forest fire» vigilance since Tuesday (level «high» / 3 out of 5) «in view of the weather situation».