A wildfire near Biscarrosse in Landes Department, southwestern France, has now been brought under control, President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday.
Speaking from the crisis room of the departmental fire-and-rescue operational centre in Bordeaux, Macron said the fire was “fixed,” describing it as good news for the Landes.
In firefighting terms, this means the fire’s forward spread, driven by the wind, has been stopped. However, it can still spread along the flanks, and the intensity of the blaze may not necessarily have decreased.
Macron said the situation in neighbouring Gironde Department remained more dangerous. The fire there had been stabilised, he said, but was still burning fiercely, and extreme caution would be needed in the coming hours and days.
The Landes fire has burned 3,600 hectares and destroyed 198 buildings.
Around 8,000 evacuated residents, out of a total of 30,000, have been allowed to return home.
