Listen to this article
Average 4 minutes
The audio version of this article was created by AI-based technology. It can be mispronounced. We are working with our partners to continuously review and improve the results.
In Le Temple, a normally quiet country road bordered by cornfields on one side and thickly planted with pine forest on the other became a busy fire station Wednesday afternoon.
The smoking hot spots in the forest burst into flames repeatedly as the workers move quickly from one to the other. Firefighters from across France doused the flames, then doused themselves with bottled water during breaks next to trucks parked on the sun-baked street.
The outbreak was part of the ongoing battle against a large fire west of Bordeaux that had burned 240,000 hectares and forced 220,000 people to evacuate at 3:30 p.m. local time Wednesday, according to the Gironde region.
Water bombs burst out in smoke from the treetops, in succession for about an hour, dropping water on the edge of the forest while ground crews attacked hot spots below.
Soldiers from the nearby Camp de Souge military base quickly arrived to control traffic and prevent access to the area. Groups of volunteers and farmers from nearby towns, organized spontaneously and self-employed, wait at the edge of the water tanks in their trucks.
“It’s a small victory,” said Lt.-Col. Didier Nicolleau of the fire and rescue service in Vienne after workers quickly tackled the fire at the edge of the forest.
But the work is constant, he said. Hot, dry conditions mean that even small pockets of heat can ignite nearby vegetation as well.
Soaring temperatures in France and Spain have complicated efforts to contain forest fires that many experts told CBC News were unprecedented on such a large scale.
The workers felt the difficulties
Romain, a Paris firefighter who has been circling the area since the fire started, said the number of people is starting to show. CBC News is identifying him only by his first name because firefighters who were not commanders were not allowed to give their last names.
“We are getting tired,” he said. “It’s very difficult.”
He said that the support of the residents of the area helped to strengthen the firefighters.
On the side of the road, volunteers drag large tanks of water filled from nearby ponds, allowing fire crews to refill their trucks without leaving the fire station.
Tommy Planeilles said he has been volunteering every day since Friday, often working until 2 or 3 a.m. before returning a few hours later.
“We want to save our forest,” he said. “The forest is beautiful, it has animals and everything. It’s not the same when it’s burned.”
Planeilles, who lives in Sainte-Hélène, near Bordeaux, said many volunteers remained behind even after the evacuation had begun. While most of the children and families left, he and the others stayed behind to protect their village before moving on to help neighboring communities.
He said residents are learning about the wildfires of 2022 in the Gironde that even if the flames seem to have died down, the danger is not over.
“The fire is going underground,” he said. “Sometimes everything is quiet at night, and then we wake up the next day and it starts all over again.”
Questions about material support
Relying on local volunteers has also raised questions for at least one business owner about whether employees are getting enough support.
Laurent Maury, who owns a supermarket in Le Porge, said that the fire chief called him late at night looking for fuel because the workers could not find it through normal channels.
He said he contacted his salesman who remotely turned on the pumps for the firefighters. An hour later, he said, another police chief arrived with the same request.
“It’s not surprising. The residents know what needs to be done for their village,” said Maury. He continued, “It is a shame to see the organization not at the level it should be.
