The fire that has been ravaging the Gironde for days has now consumed more than 22,000 hectares and led to the evacuation of more than 220,000 people. It is the worst in decades in that area. And since Saturday, 34 Swiss firefighters have been working flat out: 23 from Geneva, 8 from Vaud, 2 from Neuchâtel and one from Haute-Savoie. They set off in a convoy of eleven vehicles and were sent straight into action as soon as they arrived. By 1 am, the entire contingent had been deployed to Cestas, on the outskirts of Bordeaux, to protect a large solar panel farm that lay in the path of the fire. They worked until 6 am. Much of the farm was saved.
The spokesperson for the GSIS, the body that coordinates emergency services in Switzerland, said something that sums up the tone of the mission well: “We’re not going for just a day or two. We’re going for at least a week.” France activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism and the response arrived within hours. This is not a political gesture. It is real people getting into a vehicle, driving 600 kilometres and turning up in the midst of a fire that has been impossible to contain for days.
If you’re from Spain or have family there, the scenes from the Gironde won’t be entirely unfamiliar to you. Summers in southern Europe have been like this for years. What may come as a surprise is seeing Switzerland deploy resources to this sort of situation without anyone making too much of a fuss about it. A neighbour’s house is on fire, so they rush over. The federation is also considering sending four additional helicopters requested by France.