About 3,000 of the more than 20,000 Portuguese who live in the French department of Gironde (southwest) reside in the areas affected by the fire that has already consumed 42,000 hectares and forced the evacuation of approximately 220,000 people.
The estimate was conveyed to the Lusa news agency by Valdemar Félix, former counselor of the Portuguese community in the region and current councilor of the Lormont city council, a city of 27,000 inhabitants located about 10 kilometers from the center of Bordeaux.
Despite contacts made by Lusa, it was not possible to obtain information on the number of Portuguese already evacuated to reception centers in the region.
The fight against the fire affecting southwestern France, whose easternmost front is about 10 kilometers from Bordeaux, has been “very difficult,” despite the involvement of the French armed forces, according to Valdemar Félix.
Read more about this topic: Fire contained in France burned 3,400 hectares and forced evacuation of 20,000 people
In the city where he is a councilor, which is separated from the fire fronts by a river, 80 children from a summer camp evacuated from an area exposed to the flames were taken in on Saturday.
“The column of smoke is visible from about 80 kilometers away from Bordeaux and the atmosphere is unbreathable,” described the Portuguese-born councilor.
According to Valdemar Félix, the region has been transformed “into a war scenario,” with several roads cut off – such as the A63, which links Bordeaux to Bayonne, on the border with Spain.
“The French had never seen anything like this. They thought it only happened in Portugal, Spain and Greece,” the same official stated, fearing that the situation could worsen in the coming days when temperatures of around 40 degrees are expected in that region of France.
Read more about this topic: How rescued firefighter donkeys are helping Spain prevent wildfires (with video)
The fire in Gironde is currently the most serious being fought in France, but there are also active outbreaks in the departments of Var, Landes, on the island of Corsica and in the Hautes-Alpes region, among other areas.
In the city of Bordeaux, the French Armed Forces today deployed resources to protect strategic industrial facilities, including gunpowder and missile factories, given the possible advance of the fire toward the region.
The Ministry of the Armed Forces announced that “specialists and resources” had been deployed to ensure the security of industrial facilities (including gunpowder and missile factories) scattered across the western part of the region, now exposed to the large fire in Gironde, which is devastating the area around the Arcachon bay, while preparations are underway for the temperature rise expected next Tuesday.
