Fires in France Unearth World War II Arsenal as Heat Detonates 400 Shells

An arsenal hidden for decades has been uncovered as a result of the major fires that swept through southern France. Around 400 shells and historic munitions were found buried near the village of Le Porge, in the Gironde region.

Local authorities said that the explosions recorded during the fires may have been caused by World War II munitions that were activated by the high temperatures. It was initially suspected that the noises came from exploding gas cylinders, according to the BBC.

Martial Zaninetti, mayor of Le Porge, told France Info that more than 100 explosions were heard during the second night of the fire. He described the noise as resembling “the sounds of war.”

The mayor explained that buried ammunition depots were located on municipal land, although the authorities had been completely unaware of their presence.

“There were ammunition depots buried on our municipal land, but we did not know about them. They exploded,” Zaninetti said.

During the detonations, several shells were thrown in different directions, while one managed to penetrate a house, he added.

Following clearance operations in the area, most residents have been allowed to return home. However, some areas remain inaccessible to the public.

Because of the danger posed by the munitions that have not yet been collected, access to the beach, a campsite and the village of La Jenny remains prohibited.

The fires in Gironde, which continued for nearly 10 days, have now been brought under control, but they have left considerable damage in their wake.

In the Le Porge area, the fire destroyed more than 180 homes. Images released from the scene show families searching through the ruins of burned-out houses.

France’s Prime Minister, Sébastien Lecornu, expressed his gratitude to firefighters for their work, describing the situation the country had gone through as an “unprecedented crisis.”

According to him, the fight against the fires has entered a new phase, while evacuees are gradually returning to their homes.

Over the past two weeks, wildfires have affected several parts of Europe, with France and Spain among the hardest-hit countries. Because of the situation, more than 330,000 people were forced to temporarily leave their homes.

France ranked among the countries suffering the most severe consequences, as around 42,000 hectares of forest burned in the southwest. This is considered one of the largest fires in the country since World War II.