French Firefighters Stabilize Massive Gironde Wildfire as Macron Praises Teams

Fire crews in southwest France successfully held back a vast wildfire overnight near Atlantic coast dunes, extinguishing flare-ups north of Le Porge and in dune land north of Cap Ferret. The blaze, which erupted near Saumos, remained stabilized at 420 square kilometers (162 square miles), with the burned area unchanged according to the Gironde prefecture. Authorities reported that 103 kilometers (64 miles) of tactical firebreaks have been created by firefighters and military engineers to prevent further spread. Ninety-three firefighters have been injured during the operation, the prefecture said. A section of the A63 highway remained closed, while rail traffic south of Bordeaux was suspended except on the route toward Toulouse.

President Macron Inspects Gironde Command Center

French President Emmanuel Macron visited a coordination center for the firefighting effort, praising emergency teams who stopped the inferno’s progression after days of spreading flames that edged toward the wine region city of Bordeaux. Macron described the situation as France’s worst fire-related crisis since World War II, noting that the unprecedented blaze burned through an area four times the size of Paris and forced 220,000 people to flee their homes.

Evacuees Return in Landes While Gironde Faces New Heat Warning

The cautious progress in Gironde came as thousands of people began returning home after a separate wildfire in the neighboring Landes region displaced more than 30,000 residents and vacationers. President Emmanuel Macron said Monday evening that the Landes fire had been contained, and regional authorities described it as “fixed,” meaning its advance had been stopped and no new fires were breaking out. About 15,000 people were authorized to return from Monday night to Sanguinet, Parentis-en-Born, and some parts of Biscarrosse, including residents of Biscarrosse’s aviation village and a large campground, although several other neighborhoods remained inaccessible. Roads between Biscarrosse, Parentis-en-Born, and Sanguinet reopened on a restricted basis for residents and essential travel. However, officials warned that residual hot spots, wind, and drought mean the Landes fire is not fully extinguished, and surveillance and damping-down operations were expected to continue for days or possibly weeks.

Both regions faced an immediate new challenge as France’s national weather service placed Gironde under a yellow heat warning from midday Tuesday, forecasting inland temperatures of 33 to 35 C (91 to 95 F), with southeast winds across the department and westerly sea breezes along the coast. Successive heat waves have left forests and scrubland exceptionally dry, helping fuel fires in France and elsewhere in southern Europe.

Spain Battles Record Wildfires Amid Wider European Crisis

Around a dozen countries have provided planes, helicopters, firefighters, and other assistance to both France and Spain, where unprecedented blazes have forced more than 330,000 people to flee across the two nations. In Spain, wildfires burned out of control around Madrid and in the Valencia region, leading authorities to evacuate 79,000 people and confine another 30,000 to their homes.