Nearly 15,000 hectares of vegetation have already been reduced to ashes. Residents and vacationers, numbering 31,000, had to pack their bags urgently. The Arcachon basin zoo evacuates its animals. Monday, July 18 was announced as “one of the most difficult” that firefighters should face since the start of the fires in Gironde. The department has been hit by two gigantic fires for a week. “Despite the significant land and air resources involved, the situation is not fixed”laments Fabienne Buccio, the prefect of Gironde. “The situation is very complicated” in the face of a spreading fire, she reports.
Some 4,300 hectares went up in smoke at La Teste-de-Buch, near the Arcachon basin, over a perimeter of 9 kilometers by 8 kilometers. In Landiras, in the south of the Gironde, 10,500 hectares have burned. Evacuations took place in six localities of the municipality of Landiras and in two of that of La Teste-de-Buch, “as a preventive measure”, specifies the prefect. On Monday alone, 15,000 people were evacuated, she said.
“The evacuation must allow the firefighters to concentrate on attacking the fire”, explained to Agence France-Presse (AFP) Lieutenant-Colonel Arnaud Mendousse, spokesman for the firefighters. Otherwise, “the fumes are toxic, it’s a matter of public health to protect the population”underlined the spokesperson for the fire department.
Le Arcachon basin zoo evacuates its animals
Due to the fumes, more than a thousand animals will be evacuated from the Arcachon basin zoo in La Teste-de-Buch, the French Association of Zoological Parks (AFdPZ) announced to AFP on Monday. “Following recommendations from the authorities, we are going to do our best to evacuate all the animals from the zoo in the Arcachon basin. Crating operations for transport have begun »declared the director of the AFdPZ, Cécile Erny. “Veterinarians and trainers are also starting to arrive from several zoos in the territory with vehicles, transport boxes and veterinary equipment to help evacuate the animals and ensure their safety and well-being”she clarified.
The animals, some of which are more sensitive to smoke than others, such as primates, will then be transferred to the parking lot of the Pessac zoo, on the outskirts of Bordeaux, “the time that the cloud of smoke passes”continued the director of the association based at the Beauval zoo.
On the ground, facing blazes ” extraordinary “ and in infernal heat, some 1,700 firefighters from all over France were mobilized. Nine water bombers (six Canadair and three Dash) were also deployed. “To fight against the Landiras forest fire, a 5-kilometre-long and 40-metre-wide firewall is being built in an attempt to stop the progression of the fire”, a tweeted Interior and Overseas Minister Gérald Darmanin.
