“We are one of the worst-affected municipalities, right on the front line of the fire,” Manuel Martinez, mayor of the town Marcheprime, told outlet Franceinfo earlier this morning.
He described it as a “wildfire unlike anything we’ve seen before” that officials are working to understand.
“We are at war with an enemy,” he said, calling for more resources for firefighters.
Captain Wilfried Schneider of SDIS 33, the Gironde Fire and Rescue Service, told the AFP news agency yesterday that the biggest blaze was burning between Marcheprime and Pierroton, on the outskirts of the Bordeaux metropolitan area.
The Gironde prefecture said this morning that the huge wildfire remains “stabilised” following a “calm” night. Overnight flare-ups were brought under control, officials said, adding that the number of firefighters injured has risen to 93.