"It will be the fire of the century": the fire threatening Bordeaux could last "weeks or months"

BarcelonaThe weather conditions have brought a slight respite this Monday to the firefighters in southern France who are racing against time to put out the fire threatening Bordeaux. The Gironde fire, which is already the worst recorded in the country in the last fifty years, remains out of control, but firefighters have managed to stabilize it. However, extinction seems a distant goal: the fire "will last several weeks or even several months", said Lieutenant Colonel David Annotel, representative of the National Federation of Firefighters of France, who warned of the need to plan for the rotation of personnel.

The flames, which have burned at least 42,000 hectares, remain 15 kilometers from the metropolitan area of Bordeaux, a conurbation of more than 700,000 inhabitants. For now, however, authorities insist that there is no need to evacuate the city. "The evacuation of Bordeaux is not on the agenda," said government spokesperson Maud Bregeon this morning. Instead, 220,000 people from 23 municipalities in the region remain evacuated, and the vast majority have been temporarily rehoused in Bordeaux.

The fire, unpredictable, has advanced in recent days very rapidly due to strong winds and the high volume of dry vegetation, which has created a very complicated situation for the emergency services. More than 2,500 firefighters, 1,500 soldiers and 1,200 police officers and gendarmes, along with 450 volunteers, are working to extinguish the flames in the Gironde region. The element that makes the fire especially unpredictable and dangerous is the formation of so-called pyrocumulonimbus, storm clouds generated by the fire itself that create their own weather conditions and violent winds.

Although tonight has been calmer, the spokesperson for the French fire service, Eric Brocardi, stated that a "race against time" has begun in the fight against the fires in France, before a new heatwave begins in the country on Wednesday. "We are still in emergency mode to save lives, to prevent destruction...", assured the prefect of Gironde, Sophie Brocas. The mayor of Cestas, south of Bordeaux, explained how the 17,000 inhabitants of his municipality had to be evacuated during the night two days ago. "This will be the fire of the century", he assured in statements to the BBC, admitting that he fears a resurgence. He stresses that the firefighters have only won a small battle, but that the risk continues due to the large presence of embers in the air and in case of a sudden change in wind direction.

The European Union has intensified efforts to combat the fire in Gironde, sending two more planes this Monday. The aircraft join the nine planes and two helicopters already deployed since Tuesday, as stated to the France Press agency by European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib. Germany has also sent air support to France to help it fight the fire, according to a Defense statement. Specifically, the army has delivered two CH-53 transport helicopters, equipment, and material today, which were transported by an A400M plane to the French military base in Cazaux and will contribute to fighting the flames for at least the next five days. In addition to Berlin, Croatia, Portugal, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, and Switzerland have responded to the French government's call by sending material or reinforcements.

"The time will come to learn lessons"

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, chaired a crisis cabinet to assess the fire situation and traveled to Gironde to meet with representatives of the various bodies involved in extinguishing the fire, to whom he thanked for their efforts in recent days. "The time to learn lessons will come," said the president, but stressed that now is the time to remain "united." "We will win this battle together," he affirmed, although he admitted that the meteorological conditions for the coming hours and days will be "very difficult." Macron described the situation as "totally unprecedented." "The coming weeks will be tough and we must persevere," he said.

The Minister of Finance, Roland Lescure, has compared the effects that the fires will have on the region's economy to a "thunderclap". "It is a devastating blow" – stated the president of the region's Chamber of Commerce, Patrick Seguin–. "We have never seen anything like it". Around 14,500 companies have been affected, meaning that around 130,000 people could not work this Monday.

2026 has been the most devastating year for fires in France. In total, 13,566 fires or fire outbreaks have occurred since the beginning of summer, burning 116,085 hectares, according to the Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez. He also described the season as "completely unprecedented and exceptional", especially because it started earlier than usual. The leader also maintains that the country faces between 30 and 40 fires simultaneously every day.

At present, the fire in the Var region – on the eastern coast – has scorched 4,500 hectares and continues to require the mobilization of a thousand firefighters because the flames have intensified over the last few hours. The one in Les Landes, which started just 40 kilometers from the Gironde, calmed down during the night, although it has already burned 3,600 hectares. Firefighters have managed to control the fire that was burning in the Hautes-Alpes, which engulfed 510 hectares but which "remains dangerous", according to the region's prefect, Philippe Bailbé.