A fierce forest fire driven by strong, shifting winds swept through the Landes region on Thursday, August 13, breaking out just before 2.30 p.m. and threatening residences near the village of Luglon. By Friday morning, local prefecture officials confirmed that the blaze had scorched over 1,100 hectares.
While no homes have been destroyed so far, authorities evacuated 525 people, including nearby residents and campers, setting up a temporary reception center in the town of Sabres as a precautionary measure. Local officials also closed two departmental roads in the area surrounding Luglon.
An emergency response of roughly 500 firefighters and 40 specialized forest-fire vehicles was deployed to fight the flames. Aerial firefighting units, including Canadairs, Dash water-bombers, and Air Tractors, joined the operation to combat the fire from above.
Although an overnight increase in humidity helped slow the spread of the fire, emergency officials cautioned that predicted increases in wind speed could rapidly worsen fire conditions again.
The emergency unfolds during a severe heatwave across the region, where temperatures have surpassed 40 °C in parts of the Landes department. It is the latest in a series of major blazes to strike south-western France this summer, following a massive fire near Biscarrosse that consumed nearly 3,700 hectares and destroyed approximately 200 structures and homes.
