A fire broke out in a photovoltaic park in the Landes region on Wednesday, September 16, and quickly spread through 190 hectares of surrounding forest. The blaze was declared "contained" around 9:45 PM after an intense firefighting effort involving large numbers of aerial resources. Earlier, at 8:30 PM, officials had reported the fire had already affected 150 hectares. The flames moved rapidly through the communes of Lüe and Labouheyre, according to Didier Pressard, the mayor of Labouheyre, who described the spread as "at an extraordinary speed." The situation was further complicated by the region's existing challenges with wildfires this summer. The Landes department had already experienced two major fires earlier in the year—one in Biscarrosse in late July and another in Luglon in mid-August. This time, the fire was made more complex by the presence of high-voltage power lines, the A63 highway, and a nearby railway line, which saw its traffic interrupted. Approximately 250 firefighters were deployed on the ground, supported by 14 aerial firefighting aircraft, including four Canadair and four Dash planes—half of the national aerial resources available that day. Mayor Pressard noted that the area had sufficient aerial resources, which is not always the case, and expressed relief that the situation was handled effectively. The fire came close to two industrial wood-processing sites classified as Seveso, which are subject to strict safety regulations due to the potential for major accidents. Sparks from the fire reached these sites, raising concerns about possible explosions or fires. Four firefighters sustained minor injuries during the operation. The Landes de Gascogne massif, a vast forested area spanning over one million hectares across the departments of Landes, Gironde, and Lot-et-Garonne, has been severely affected by prolonged heatwaves this summer. These conditions have dried out the region, increasing the risk of wildfires. Although the fire risk level was "orange" (high) on Tuesday and "yellow" (medium) on Wednesday, the region remains vulnerable. This summer saw the most destructive fire in the area, the Gironde megafire, which burned 42,000 hectares, destroyed 250 homes, and forced the evacuation of over 220,000 people in late July. Additional fires in Biscarrosse and Luglon burned 3,700 and 1,700 hectares, respectively. In France, the year 2026 has already surpassed the record for burned areas in the past 20 years, according to the European fire monitoring system (Effis). Nearly 100,000 hectares have been burned so far this year. The summer fires have caused 25,000 incidents and are estimated to have cost nearly 500 million euros, according to the France Assureurs federation, which represents insurance companies in the country.