Since July 22, 2026, a wildfire has torn through the Gironde and Landes regions in the southwest of France. Nearly 200,000 people have been evacuated, reportedly the largest operation of its kind carried out in France.
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) network released an emergency allocation, with the ADRA France office deploying service vouchers and essential packages to affected families.
The fire broke out in the early afternoon of Wednesday, July 22, in the Landes de Gascogne. In five days, it covered about 40,000 hectares (98,842 acres) in Gironde and is now threatening the Lège-Cap-Ferret peninsula. A second outbreak is burning in the Landes, around Biscarrosse, where more than 3,500 hectares (8648 acres) have already gone up in smoke.
At this stage, there have been no civilian casualties, however 84 firefighters were injured, and several hundred homes were destroyed. On the ground, 2,500 firefighters, 1,500 soldiers, 1,200 police and gendarmes, and 450 volunteers from approved civil security associations are fighting the fire with support from 18 air resources.
On a national scale, 2026 is already breaking all records, with nearly 100,000 hectares (247,105 acres) in Europe burned since January.
Nearly 200,000 people—residents, tourists, and residents of nursing homes—were sheltered, including several tens of thousands in a single night. The Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region has opened more than 500 boarding beds in its high schools. The municipalities of the Arcachon Bay and the Landes coast also have reception points.
According to ADRA, more than 13,000 companies had to be evacuated in the Gironde department alone, leading to thousands of household incomes being interrupted overnight during peak tourist season.
The ADRA network has been asked to provide emergency allocation. The Bordeaux branch, in conjunction with State services and communal social action centers of the affected municipalities, are providing service vouchers and care packages.
The service voucher is a payment document accepted in local shops. It allows a family to buy what they need such as hygiene products, clothes, infant milk and diapers, non-reimbursed medicines, and fuel.
The ADRA team is also preparing food parcels, non-perishable food, water, and products that do not require cooking or refrigeration, supplemented with hygiene kits and products for infants. Distribution will be done as close as possible to the reception points in coordination with the actors already present in order to avoid any duplication.
The original article was published on the ADRA France news site.
