More than 5,000 responders battle Gironde wildfire near Bordeaux as crews struggle to contain blaze

More than 5,000 firefighters, military personnel, police officers and volunteers are battling a large wildfire in Gironde, southwestern France, where shifting winds and extreme fire behaviour have prevented crews from directly controlling the blaze. The fire was about 15 kilometres from Bordeaux’s suburbs and has forced a major evacuation. Around 2,500 firefighters, 1,500 military personnel and 1,200 police officers have been deployed in the department, alongside volunteers.

Firefighters said the blaze had produced a huge pyrocumulonimbus, a storm-like cloud generated by intense heat from the fire. Eric Brocardi, a spokesman for the National Federation of Firefighters, said such a cloud had not previously been recorded in France. Brocardi said emergency services were facing a natural force beyond their control and were concentrating on protecting towns and villages rather than attempting to stop the main fire front.

On the southeastern flank, a new outbreak drew firefighters from the Paris Fire Brigade. Crews worked in pine forest near the closed A63 motorway, using hoses on lower flames before switching to shovels and rakes when water supplies ran out.

Firefighters described conditions changing rapidly across dozens of kilometres, with drought, heat-damaged vegetation and shifting winds complicating efforts on the ground. One firefighter said water-bombing aircraft could reduce the blaze’s intensity but could not stop it once flames reached the treetops.