Gironde Wildfire Risk: Should I Travel?

Open the relevant wildfire mapRead France travel adviceCampervan checks

What is happening

The fire that started at Saumos on 22 July is no longer spreading. The préfecture calls it "fixé", which is not the same as out: on 3 August it was still active along the coastal strip, with 1,500 firefighters working hot spots and fumeroles. The evacuations are over. Lège-Cap-Ferret and Le Porge, the last two communes closed to their own residents, were authorised to return on Monday 3 August, and the Le Ferron and Plein Soleil districts of Le Porge reopened that evening once a clearance team had lifted more than 400 wartime shells uncovered by the fire. Nine named campsites at Lège-Cap-Ferret have also been allowed to reopen. What has not changed is the countryside: Gironde is still under red forest-fire vigilance and the forest is still closed to walkers, cyclists and motor vehicles. It was one of the largest evacuations France has carried out in peacetime.

What it means if you are travelling

The evacuation is over and the main routes are back. The A63 between Bordeaux and Bayonne, shut for four days, reopened progressively from 30 July, and trains south of Bordeaux restarted on 1 August. Lège-Cap-Ferret and Le Porge were reopened to their residents on 3 August, so a booking in either is no longer behind a roadblock. Campsites and light dwellings in those two communes were deliberately left out of that decision, and only nine named campsites at Lège-Cap-Ferret have been cleared to reopen since, so ring your site and ask whether it has been authorised. A commune reopening does not mean your pitch has. Marcheprime station was reported closed while that commune was evacuated and we have not been able to confirm whether it is being served again, so check your own train on the morning you travel. A handful of small roads in the Le Porge and Lège sector are still barred, so trust the préfecture's own closure map over your satnav. Bordeaux and the rest of the department are working normally. While the red vigilance holds, forest and dune walking is closed to everyone and lighting anything outdoors is banned, barbecues and cigarettes included.

What is still disrupted in Gironde

Checked against Préfecture de la Gironde, point de situation du lundi 3 août on 2026-08-04. Conditions change daily during and after a fire, and the source below is the authority.

• Reopened: Lège-Cap-Ferret and Le Porge: residents authorised back. The préfecture authorised return to Lège bourg and to Le Porge village, excluding Le Ferron and Plein Soleil, from 2pm on 3 August, with the rest of the Lège Cap-Ferret peninsula from 7pm. Mistre and Les Andrauts at Lacanau reopened at the same time. These were the last two communes still evacuated, twelve days after the fire started. (as of 2026-08-03)
• Reopened: Arès, Saumos, Le Temple and Marcheprime: residents allowed home. Corrects the earlier entry listing Arès, Saumos, Le Temple and Marcheprime as evacuated. Reintegration was authorised for these four communes on 1 August, along with the Lubec and La Pointe districts of Audenge. Around 208,000 of some 224,000 evacuees had been cleared to return by that evening. (as of 2026-08-01)
• Reopened: Andernos, Audenge, Biganos, Lanton and the rest of the Arcachon basin communes. Reintegration authorised. The préfecture's list of cleared communes on 1 August covers Andernos, Arès, Audenge, Biganos, Lanton, Le Barp, Cestas, Eysines outside the ring road, Le Haillan, Martignas-sur-Jalle, Mérignac outside the ring road, Mios, Salaunes, Saint-Jean-d'Illac, Saint-Médard-en-Jalles, Saint-Aubin-de-Médoc, Sainte-Hélène, Marcheprime, Saumos and Le Temple. (as of 2026-08-01)
• Reopened: Nine Lège-Cap-Ferret campsites reopened. The préfecture named nine sites on 3 August: La Pinède and La Prairie at Lège Bourg, Les Pastourelles, VVF, Domaine du Ferret, Les Embruns and Les Viviers at Claouey, and Le Truc Vert at Piquey. Check directly with any campsite elsewhere in the exclusion area before arriving. (as of 2026-08-03)
• Partly open: Campsites elsewhere on the Arcachon basin. Campsites at Arès, Andernos, Audenge, Biganos, Lanton, Marcheprime, Saumos and Le Temple were evacuated on 30 July. Those communes have since been cleared for reintegration, so sites there should be reopening, but the préfecture has not published a campsite-by-campsite list. Guests should confirm with their site before travelling. (as of 2026-08-01)
• Reopened: A63 Bordeaux to Bayonne. Reopened in both directions on Thursday 30 July and no further closure reported. (as of 2026-08-01)
• Reopened: RD6 between Lacanau and Bordeaux. Reported reopening on Saturday 1 August. (as of 2026-08-01)
• Partly open: Reduced rail timetable, Marcheprime station closed. Trains restarted south of Bordeaux on 1 August. Marcheprime station was reported closed while that commune was evacuated. The commune reopened on 1 August, but we have not been able to confirm from SNCF whether the station is being served again, so check your own train on the morning you travel. (as of 2026-08-04)
• Still closed: Forests and pine woods closed to the public. Forest access across Gironde remains banned to walkers, cyclists and combustion engines. The burnt zone is separately off limits because weakened pines are still coming down. (as of 2026-08-03)
• Still closed: Water sports on Lake Cazaux-Sanguinet. Banned by prefectural order of 27 July while the lake is used for firefighting water pickup. (as of 2026-08-01)
• Reopened: Le Ferron and Plein Soleil at Le Porge reopened. These two districts were held back from the 3 August reintegration while unexploded ordnance was cleared. The préfecture's evening bulletin the same day reported that more than 400 wartime shells had been recovered and that residents could return that evening. (as of 2026-08-03)
• Still closed: Campsites and light dwellings excluded from the reintegration. The préfecture's authorisation specifically does not cover campsites, including those inside natural areas, or light dwellings in Lège-Cap-Ferret and Le Porge. Nine named campsites at Lège-Cap-Ferret have since been cleared to reopen; every other site in those two communes is still outside the authorisation. A commune reopening does not mean your site has. (as of 2026-08-04)
• Still closed: RD106 and RD1250 closed, A63 slip roads shut. RD106 and RD1250 remain closed in the fire area, and the A63 slip roads between junctions 25 and 23 are shut per the préfecture. (as of 2026-08-03)

Préfecture de la Gironde, point de situation du lundi 3 août →

Free destination checks

Nearby alternatives to compare

• Compare open town or serviced stops with forest-backed coastal stops.
• For a France-to-Spain journey, compare routes that do not depend on the Gironde/Landes forest corridor.
• For beach holidays, confirm whether beaches, cycle paths and natural areas are open, not only accommodation.

Europe Fire Map is travel decision support, not an emergency service or an official incident feed. Conditions can change faster than this page. Follow local authorities, accommodation providers and emergency services first. In danger anywhere in the EU, call 112.