Wildfire in Landes declared contained as French PM visits site of July outbreak
South-east remains at high risk of blazes
A wildfire in the Landes department was declared fixé (contained) this morning after burning 1,700 hectares, the latest in a string of blazes across the south of France.
Firefighters confirmed it was under control following favourable conditions in the area overnight.
The fire began on Thursday and has seen some 650 residents evacuated from their homes, around 250 of which can now return.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is visiting the neighbouring Gironde department today, the site of the fire that burned 42,000 hectares this summer.
Other fires continue in Bellegarde-en-Diois (Drôme), where a blaze covering some 370 hectares has been burning for nearly two weeks, and Castellane (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence).
A wildfire in Belgium, which has seen over 3,000 hectares burned, has led to low air quality levels in northern France, particularly Moselle.
Continued heatwave conditions in the south-east mean three departments face a very high risk of forest fires today – Var, Bouches-du-Rhône, and Vaucluse – with nine others on a heightened risk.
An easing of these conditions in the south-east and the arrival of rain across France towards the end of the week should see risk levels reduced by the weekend.
A live map of forest fires across France on the feuxdeforet.fr website. The map below shows live blazes reported as of 10:00 on Monday morning.
Red shows ongoing fires, orange fires reported but not yet confirmed, and black those recently put out.
PM visits Gironde
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu is visiting Gironde along with other ministers today, unveiling plans to help the department in the aftermath of the record July fire.
Mr Lecornu was roundly booed by inhabitants of Le Porge (his first stop) this morning, some of whom turned out in black as a sign of mourning.
Mr Lecornu reportedly made an unofficial visit to the commune – where some three-quarters of homes were burned down – yesterday without the media present.
Following meetings with local officials, residents are looking for the prime minister to confirm direct aid to help rebuild the community, including exemptions on property taxes and a fast-track approval of building permits to reconstruct destroyed homes.
More widely, departmental officials are calling for other measures including a ‘culture of risk’ to anticipate future natural disasters in the department.
President of the department Jean-Luc Gleyze has reignited calls for an anti-fire aircraft base in the forest in the Landes massif. First promised in 2022, it is yet to be constructed, and is expected to cost €318 million.
