A ferocious wildfire has torn through 2,400 hectares of pine forest near the Arcachon basin in Gironde, triggering the preventive evacuation of 20,000 residents and holidaymakers as flames advanced rapidly on a densely populated summer hotspot.
The fire, which erupted on Wednesday, July 22, near Saumos, quickly engulfed the commune of Le Porge before surging toward Lège-Cap-Ferret, a beloved Atlantic coastal destination. Firefighters reported the blaze had spread across a 15-kilometer front by Thursday morning, fueled by unfavorable weather conditions and highly combustible vegetation in the Landes de Gascogne forest, an area still scarred by devastating 2022 wildfires.
Escalating Evacuations Through the Night
The crisis escalated sharply overnight. On Wednesday evening, approximately 5,000 people were ordered to leave threatened communes and a campsite. By early Thursday, the prefecture announced the additional preventive evacuation of six campsites and a naturist residential domain north of Cap Ferret, displacing roughly 7,000 more individuals. At midday Thursday, Prefect Sophie Brocas issued a third order for 8,800 people, including the entire village of Claouey and three nearby campsites, to leave immediately.
“We are facing a convective fire, which moves in all directions,” warned Marc Vermeulen, director of the departmental fire and rescue service. He described flames leaping several dozen meters high as they raced through the tree canopy.
Firefighters Battle Unpredictable Inferno
Hundreds of firefighters and 150 engines were deployed against the inferno, supported by an aerial fleet including two Dash aircraft, two Canadair water bombers, and four Air Tractor planes. Overnight, crews resorted to tactical firing operations, lighting controlled backfires along the forest fringe to deprive the advancing flames of fuel.
Despite these efforts, the burned area grew by about 600 hectares after nightfall. Prefect Brocas solemnly urged the public to comply with evacuation orders to allow emergency services to concentrate on containment. “There is no immediate danger, but it must be done now,” she stated.
Accidental Cause Investigated
While no casualties have been reported, the suspected cause points to an accident. The mayor of Le Porge indicated the fire may have been sparked by a brush-clearing machine, a theory the gendarmerie is working to confirm as an “accidental” ignition. In response, the prefect has banned all forestry work using combustion engines across the department, which remains under a red alert for wildfires.
This latest disaster compounds a severe fire season for France. Government figures show more than 12,500 fire outbreaks have been recorded since January, consuming 44,000 hectares—surpassing the total burned in 2022, when massive blazes in the same Landes forest forced the evacuation of 50,000 people. With multiple fires erupting in recent days, the Bordeaux public prosecutor’s office has announced a crackdown on fire-related offenses, specifically targeting discarded cigarettes.
