Fire in Gironde. IMAGES. 4th day against fire – Ouest-France

With reinforcements in men and aircraft dispatched on Saturday by the interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, came in person Sunday encourage firemen, fire, one of the largest in France for five years, has experienced the last 24 hours “low” progression, according to the prefecture, Sunday at 21 h 00, stood stock of 550 hectares destroyed.

supported by seven aircraft, including four Canadair and Dash, firefighters have so far managed to avoid any residential or damaged in the perimeter of 16 km around Saint-Jean-d’Illac, 20 km southwest of Bordeaux, where fire left Friday at 14 h 30 and Pessac.

From daybreak, aircraft must resume their rotations, but, because of “improving the situation” , only two of the four Canadair will be in operation on Monday morning, said the prefect of the Aquitaine Region and the department of Gironde, Pierre Dartout.

For the fire chief of Gironde, Colonel John Paul Decellières, “Work is to separate burned areas and unburned so not having spread through the basement, the roots” . “A painstaking work that requires time and resources, lots of water in a soil composed of peat” .

unfavorable weather forecast

According the expression of a firefighter, you must ensure that “the fire had nothing to eat” .

The main fear is the evolution of the wind, after lulls in the night and the morning became stronger in the afternoon, sometimes with sudden changes in direction that make the unpredictable and thereby dangerous. That is why the prefecture estimates that “the situation remains worrying as weather forecasts are unfavorable” .

As for the residents, no new evacuation is envisaged in the morning, when nearly 600 people had to leave Friday or Saturday threatened neighborhoods of Saint-Jean d’Illac and Pessac, overwhelmingly relocated with relatives or friends. But “in the name of the precautionary principle” , “no way that they can return to their home” for the moment, the prefect had said Sunday night.

The cause of the fire of Saint-Jean-d’Illac remained unknown, the gendarmerie investigation favoring any hypothesis, criminal or accidental.

This fire is one of the most Important recent years in the Gironde department in more than 45% covered in forest and fire where multiple departures are not uncommon in the summer day. In August 2012, a fire destroyed more than 650 hectares of pines near Lacanau, causing no casualties.