France evacuates 4,000 more as 14 flare-ups reignite Gironde mega-fire

Renewed threat on the Atlantic coast

French authorities registered 14 flare-ups on Tuesday in areas of Gironde already scorched by the wildfire, prompting a fresh evacuation order for approximately 4,000 people from campsites, holiday villages, and leisure parks around the resort town of Lacanau. Prefect Sophie Brocas described the count as 'very significant' but stressed the fire remains 'stabilised' and 'is not progressing.' The decision was taken as temperatures began climbing again, humidity dropped, and variable winds raised fears that smouldering vegetation could reignite into fast-moving flames before Saturday, when a cool-down is expected.

Today we had 14 fires, which is very significant, in areas that had already been covered by the fire.

The human scale of the disaster

The Gironde fire has consumed about 42,000 hectares since 22 July. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez called the operation 'very probably' the largest civil evacuation ever carried out in France outside wartime. As of Tuesday, roughly 220,000 people had been ordered to leave their homes, a displacement figure some outlets placed as the largest in France since World War II. Around 60,000 evacuees were able to return home the same day, while in the neighbouring Landes region about 15,000 residents went back after a second fire was declared under control, though authorities maintained tight surveillance for reignitions.

Anguish in Le Porge

In the commune of Le Porge (3,700 inhabitants, roughly 20% of whom are Portuguese), 12% of all homes were destroyed, more than 70% of total housing losses across the Gironde fire zone. Residents confronted local officials on Monday, accusing authorities of sacrificing their town to protect the tourist peninsula of Cap Ferret. One resident was removed by police from a community centre while shouting at the prefect. Mayor Martial Zaninetti acknowledged 'tactical decisions' would need scrutiny later, while volunteer coordinator Pierre Alexandre told AFP the town was 'sacrificed.'

Things were burning here and in Cap Ferret they weren't. Everyone went to Cap Ferret to protect the peninsula, even when things were already burning here.

220,000 displaced, an 'army' fighting the flames

Nearly 3,000 firefighters, 1,500 soldiers, 1,440 security personnel, and around twenty aircraft are battling a fire front stretching 130 kilometres. Three firefighters have died and at least 110 have been injured (other accounts cite 90 or 93 injured). Lieutenant François Chartier of the Gironde fire service described it as 'the largest fire I have ever experienced in my career.' The A63 motorway remained partially closed and rail traffic south of Bordeaux was suspended except for the Toulouse connection.

If up until now, with the low temperatures, we couldn't control it, now it's going to be worse.

Spanish front stabilises, death toll reaches 14

Across the border, a day of calm before Spain's fourth heatwave of the year allowed firefighters to gain ground. The Vall d'Uixó fire in Castellón did not grow in area or perimeter, though authorities warned that smoke and the risk of a thermal inversion could reignite flames. A woman who had been hospitalised in Seville with burns covering 70% of her body from the Los Gallardos fire (Almería), which broke out in early July and was only declared extinguished this week, died on Tuesday. Her death raised the toll from that single fire to 14, most of the victims foreign nationals.

Portuguese community mobilises

Portuguese emigrants form a significant part of the affected population. Valdemar Félix, municipal councillor in Lormont, said families felt 'abandoned' by the Portuguese government and awaited a 'word of comfort through the consulate or the embassy.' Community advisor Filipe Dantas countered that 'up to now, help from the Portuguese authorities is not necessary' and that 'the French authorities are dealing with it and they [the affected] are content.' Meanwhile, Fernando Rocha, a 42-year-old renovation-business owner, cut his holiday in Portugal short to return and help neighbours clear firebreaks.