Gigantic Wildfires Move Toward Bordeaux as Mass Evacuations Continue

Overview

• A blaze that began in Saumos has grown into a convective fire that sent pyrocumulonimbus storms and ember showers across Gironde and the Landes, forcing large-scale evacuations since Wednesday.
• Authorities say roughly 167,000 people were evacuated in Gironde and about 197,000 across the southwest as the blazes destroyed homes, injured dozens of firefighters, and killed two professionals.
• The government has mobilised national reinforcements including up to 1,500 military personnel and deployed an A400M transport plane fitted to drop retardant for the first operational time in support of aerial firefighting.
• Prosecutors have opened multiple inquiries and are treating the Saumos brushcutting operation as a lead cause while bringing prosecutions against people caught smoking in forests after the deaths of the two firefighters.
• Short-term relief came from calmer night conditions and some local returns of residents, but officials warned the situation remained active and that weather shifts could make the coming hours difficult.