A Night of Flight in France: Over 10,000 Evacuated as an Inferno Devours 2,000 Hectares — "The Situation Remains Unfavorable"
500 firefighters, two Canadairs and six aircraft battle the flames near Saumos in Gironde; eight campsites full of tourists were emptied and nine municipalities opened shelters
More than 10,000 people were evacuated during the night of July 22-23 due to a fast-spreading forest fire in the commune of Saumos, in the Gironde department of southwestern France. The blaze, which broke out on Wednesday, had consumed more than 2,000 hectares of pine forest west of Bordeaux, near Arcachon Bay, by morning.
Campsites emptied at the peak of the season
Among the evacuees are over a thousand residents and tourists from eight holiday centers and campsites — including La Grigne, La Jenny, Truc Vert and Grand Crohot — cleared out at the very height of the summer season. Nine municipalities, including Lege-Cap-Ferret, Lacanau and Bordeaux, opened reception centers that have so far taken in more than 2,500 people.
"The imperative to protect the population led the authorities to decide on the preventive evacuation of more than 10,000 people during the night," Gironde Prefect Sophie Brocas said in her morning update. "This very violent fire still mobilizes 500 firefighters fighting step by step to contain it. The situation remains unfavorable."
An air armada over the flames
The firefighting effort involves 500 firefighters, two Dash aircraft, two Canadair water bombers, four Air Tractor planes and 150 ground vehicles, with 90 gendarmes securing the area. No injuries have been reported so far. The Gironde department had been placed on red alert for forest fires, in a summer that has scorched Europe with back-to-back heatwaves — and the burned area on the continent this year already exceeds the average of the past two decades.
Significant aerial reinforcements were announced for this morning, while roads to the affected zone remain closed and authorities urge the public to strictly follow safety instructions. For residents of the pine country between Bordeaux and the ocean, memories of the catastrophic summer of 2022 are coming back to life.
