__NOTOC__ A major

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

occurred from 19 August 1949 to 25 August 1949 in the Landes forest in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. of forest land were burnt - and 82 people killed. It was considered the most deadly forest fire in Europe until the

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

and

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wildfires in Greece, which killed 84 and 99 people, respectively. Since both fire events in Greece can be distinguished as a multiple fire event, the Landes fire still ranks as the deadliest wildfire in Europe since record-keeping began. The municipalities of

Cestas Cestas (; oc-gsc, Cestàs) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population Economy Cestas Solar Park was the biggest solar park in Europe when Neoen opened it in December 2015. See also *Commu ...

Saucats Saucats () is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Gironde department The following is a list of the 535 communes of the Gironde department of France. The ...

Marcheprime Marcheprime (; oc, Marcha Prima) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Gironde department *Parc naturel régional des Landes de Gascogne Landes de Gascog ...

and

Mios Mios (; oc-gsc, Miòs) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population Its inhabitants are called ''Miossais''. Sights The Saint Brice chapel has a bell dating from 1700 classed as a '' monumen ...

in the

Gironde Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,62 ...

department were devastated by the forest fire. The very high dead toll from the fire shocked the country – and marked the starting point for the construction of the “Defending Forest against Wildfire” – “Défense de la forêt contre les incendies” System.

Bibliography and further reading

*Joan Deville, L'Incendie meurtrier dans la forêt des Landes en août 1949, Les Éd. des Pompiers de France, 15 mai 2009, 160 p. () (in French)

Sources

*Abstract and short translation of the Article « Incendie de la forêt des Landes de 1949 » in the French Wikipedia

References

External links

Pourquoi les incendies de forêts sont-ils si meurtriers ? Par Robert B Chevrou

La sécheresse remarquable de l'année agricole 1948-1949 en France.

Les incendies de forêt dans le massif landais
https://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/index2.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fdocuments.irevues.inist.fr%2Fbitstream%2F2042%2F20886%2F1%2FRFF_1974_S_T1_21.pdf%2Findex.html#federation=archive.wikiwix.com&tab=url archived]
1949 - l'incendie meurtrier dans la Forêt des Landes (article in the blog ''Paysages'')(in French)

The Fatal Forest Fire – remembering the “1949 Mega fire” in the „Forêt des Landes” (South West France) (article in the blog ''Paysages'')

Le 19 août 1949 – le drame de la Forêt des Landes (article in the blog ''Paysages'')(in French)
1949 in France Wildfire ecology Fires in France Natural disasters in France Wildfires in Europe History of firefighting 1940s wildfires 1940s fires in Europe 1949 fires 1949 disasters in France {{wildfire-stub