Major fire in Gironde: 167,000 people moved to safety

Saumos – 25 July 2026: Dense smoke continues to hang over the pine forests north of the Bassin d’Arcachon. The major fire, which broke out near Saumos on Wednesday, 22 July, had affected around 32,700 hectares according to the update released on Saturday evening. Although the flames are spreading less intensely than in the first hours, the operation remains dangerous and difficult for firefighters to assess.

According to the French Interior Ministry, the fire near Saumos is the largest forest fire of this season. The fire zone is located in a landscape of extensive forests, holiday resorts and numerous access roads. For the population, this means a state of emergency: according to the latest figures, a total of 167,000 people have been moved to safety as a precaution. Many had to leave homes, campsites or holiday accommodation at short notice.

At access points to the affected areas, security forces are controlling traffic while firefighting units reposition their vehicles along the edges of the fire zone. Around 1,400 firefighters are now on site or on their way there. They are joined by 18 water-bombing aircraft and helicopters, 1,700 internal security personnel and military forces, whose number is to be increased to more than 1,000. The scale of this deployment reflects the extent of the fire and the high need for protection in this heavily visited holiday region.

The emergency crews come from different parts of France. They relieve one another in operational sectors, secure firebreaks, cool threatened areas and fight smouldering hotspots. According to France Televisions, individual shifts last up to 24 hours under the extreme conditions. In a forest fire of this scale, the stability of secured lines depends largely on wind, dryness and temperature. The night offered more favourable conditions because of the easing heat; at the same time, numerous flare-ups were reported.

The Bordeaux public prosecutor’s office is investigating the cause of the fire. According to initial findings by the Lesparre-Medoc brigade, an accidental origin is the main line of inquiry. A brush cutter may have started the fire. Employees of a company working for grid operator Enedis are said to have used the device at midday on Wednesday while carrying out work beneath a high-voltage line. This remains a preliminary stage of the investigation, not a final determination.

When evacuees can return depends on the local safety situation. Authorities must first inspect access routes, the power supply and the edges of the fire. Beneath ash, dry pine-needle ground and charred wood, hotspots can remain undetected for a long time and reignite flames when the wind picks up. For this reason, emergency crews continue to focus on the flanks of the fire and forest areas already overrun by it.