Biology:1949 Landes forest fire

Monument to victims of the 1949 fires, at Canéjan

Monument to victims of the 1949 fires, at Cestas

A major wildfire occurred from 19 August 1949 to 25 August 1949 in the Landes forest in France. 50,000 hectares (500 km²) of forest land were burnt - and 82 people killed. It was considered the most deadly forest fire in Europe until the 2007 wildfires and the 2018 wildfires occurred in Greece, which killed 84 and 99 people, respectively. Since both events in Greece can be distinguished as multiple fire events, the Landes fire still ranks as the deadliest wildfire in Europe since record-keeping began. The municipalities of Cestas, Saucats, Marcheprime and Mios in the Gironde 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 “Défense de la forêt contre les incendies” System ("Defending Forest against Wildfires" 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. (ISBN 978-2916079202) (in French)

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 landaisarchived
• 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)