Feeling of apocalypse: “Faced with a monster – trying to save what is possible”

An unprecedented environmental and human disaster is taking place these days in southwestern France, when huge wildfires that have gotten out of control have already consumed more than 420 square kilometers of woodland, pine forests and agricultural land. The fire, raging at the height of the international tourist season, forced over 260,000 people to abandon their homes and resorts in France alone. Together with the neighboring fire stations in Spain, this is a large-scale regional emergency in which over 375,000 residents and travelers were evacuated, one of the largest evacuation operations Europe has seen in recent decades.

The central and most severe fire front continues to develop in the Gironde region. There, a deadly combination of extreme heat waves, prolonged drought and strong winds that change their direction with high frequency, feeds the flames that are only about 15 kilometers away from the outskirts of the city of Bordeaux. French emergency authorities repeatedly activated the national warning systems, ordering entire communities, residents and tourists to pack basic emergency equipment and evacuate immediately, fearing that the fickle winds would continue to advance the fire lines towards densely populated areas. “We are facing a monster here,” says Virginia Berkons, head of the civil defense system. “When the wind changes direction so often, the fire is the one that runs the event and makes the decisions, and we simply have to go with it and try to save what we can.”

One of the most dramatic rescue incidents took place on the popular Cap Ferret peninsula, where thousands of local and international tourists were staying. When the line of fire completely blocked the only land access road from the area, authorities launched a complex maritime evacuation operation. A huge fleet of ferries, water taxis and private vessels rescued thousands of vacationers who were trapped on the coastal strip and transported them across Arcachon Bay to the beach of safety. From there, special emergency SNCF trains were organized for them that brought them to reception centers in Bordeaux.

At the same time, the spread of the flames led to the closure of major transportation arteries, including the A63 highway that connects France to Spain, along with the paralysis of regional train lines. Although the mayor of Bordeaux, Thomas Cazenave, clarified that at this stage there is no plan to evacuate the 850,000 residents of the Bordeaux metropolis, the huge Bordeaux-Lac fair center has been assigned as a central receiving complex. The place takes in thousands of families and vacationers who have been displaced from accommodation, and provides them with beds, hot meals and initial medical and psychological assistance.

The economic damage to the local tourism industry at the peak of the season is estimated at huge amounts. Authorities in the Gironde region have made an unprecedented call for tourists to stay away from the region altogether and seek alternative destinations. The representative of the local government, Sophie Brokas, directly addressed the vacationers and advised them to pack their belongings and leave if they arrived recently. As a result of the guidelines, at least 45 campsites were closed, and the vacation plans of tens of thousands of tourists went down the drain. In addition, the authorities imposed a blanket ban on the existence of summer camps, youth movement trips and organized recreational activities for people with disabilities throughout the province.

One of the main questions raised by the thousands of foreign tourists staying in the area, many of whom do not have a French SIM card or a local phone number, is how to act in real time. The French authorities clarify that the FR-Alert national warning system is not based on pre-registration or a database of phone numbers, but on cell broadcast technology that transmits directly to any mobile device active in the danger zone via 4G and 5G networks.

The system is able to identify foreign devices and deliver emergency messages to them in English and other languages, detailing the level of danger and evacuation instructions. However, for the alert to be received, the device must be turned on, not in flight mode, and when Data Roaming service is activated. In rural areas or in cases where there are difficulties with cellular reception, the national horn system (SAIP) is activated, alongside fire and police teams that go door-to-door and help evacuate elderly or disabled residents and tourists. Teams at hotels and campsites are also instructed to evacuate guests proactively ahead of time.

In terms of financial rights and compensation, the French Tourism Code states that when an official evacuation order is issued by the district inspector or the mayor, tourists are entitled to a full refund for unused days or for vacations canceled before they began. However, in cases where a campsite or hotel decides to evacuate independently without an official administrative order, the refund depends on the business’s private cancellation policy. Regarding reservations made through international platforms such as Airbnb or Booking.com, the compensation is subject to the companies’ unavoidable circumstances policy, while the authorities recommend that all travelers have an accessible emergency bag with documents, medicines and cargo, and leave the area immediately upon receiving the instruction without delay.

Beyond the dimensions of the fire, what makes the fire in the Gironde an extraordinary event in its intensity is the formation of a particularly rare meteorological phenomenon called “pyrocumulonimbus”, a huge storm cloud formed as a result of the extreme heat of the fire. The phenomenon, known to most of the giant fires in Australia and North America, took place in France in an unprecedented manner.

The huge cloud raises smoke to a great height which meets the colder air in the atmosphere. The meeting creates a storm that does not contain moisture, but produces strong gusts of wind and air vortices that constantly change direction. In addition, lightning released from the cloud strikes the ground and ignites new fire foci many kilometers away from the main fire front. Fire chiefs stated that the fire created a completely independent weather system that thwarted any attempt to predict or directly extinguish it.

According to Lt. Col. Eric Brocardi, spokesman for the French National Federation of Firefighters, this is a “David vs. Goliath” scenario in which the firefighters cannot deal with the flames head-on, but are forced to retreat to the defensive and wait for an opportunity to attack weak points. To deal with the disaster, France mobilized about 2,500 firefighters, 1,500 soldiers and 1,200 policemen, alongside dozens of Candair firefighting planes and transport planes dropping flame retardants. As part of the European Union’s aid mechanism, neighboring countries sent rescue forces and additional planes.

The ongoing struggle took a heavy toll on the fire fighters: at least 84 of them were injured, and ten were hospitalized. At the same time, hundreds of residences were completely destroyed. The French police increased their patrols and arrested a number of citizens who disobeyed the safety instructions, including a man who smoked in the forest and two who lit a barbecue in violation of the absolute ban.

French President Emmanuel Macron convened an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the national response. However, when forecasts warn of another heat wave with temperatures of up to 40 degrees, professionals admit that achieving full control over the flames will only occur if it rains for a long time, or when the fire turns towards natural barriers such as oceanic water.