Industrial Estate In French Port Of La Rochelle Evacuated After HUGE Fire In Grain Silos

A huge fire broke out in several grain silos on an industrial estate in the French port of La Rochelle in Charente-Maritime earlier today, Thursday, August 10.

As a result, the area was evacuated as firefighters battled to extinguish the flames. Black plumes of smoke were visible for several miles around.

According to the Charente-Maritime prefecture, the fire started at around 8 am, on a grain loading belt. This device is a conveyor belt that transports the grain to the top of the silos, some 40 metres in height.

Quatre silos de céréales de la SICA Atlantique sont touchés par un incendie depuis 8h ce matin à #LaRochelle, près du port de commerce. Un périmètre de sécurité est en place. #incendie pic.twitter.com/Q8CA5WdyRR

— France Bleu La Rochelle (@Bleu_Rochelle) August 10, 2023

An AFP correspondent noted that the fire was still burning at around 11:45 am, as reported by europe1.fr. It was later confirmed by the authorities to have been extinguished shortly after midday.

NEW: Grain silos ablaze in the western port of La Rochelle in France

READ: https://t.co/wzYyikW4tn pic.twitter.com/7al5sDgth1

— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) August 10, 2023

The silos contained wheat

The silos affected by the fire are part of a set of tanks built in a row and contain wheat, a spokeswoman for the fire department told AFP.

‘The objective is to put it out as soon as possible, knowing that we are in a long-term event’, Emmanuel Cayron, the secretary general of the prefecture explained to the media.

More than 100 firefighters and 27 appliances were deployed in the La Pallice district. The silos were located near the bridge leading to the Ile de Ré, and ‘requests for reinforcements’ were in progress, the prefecture reported while the fire was burning.

Owned by the port operator Sica Bertrand, the whole site, along with nearby businesses was evacuated and a perimeter of 100 metres around the fire was established as a precaution. Today’s fire followed a similar one in Turkey yesterday that destroyed a major grain depot.

A total of 11 people died after a fire in a holiday cottage

Today’s fire comes a day after a tragic incident that occurred yesterday, Wednesday 9, at a holiday cottage on the French border with Germany.

A total of 11 people were confirmed to have died at the property located in the town of Wintzenheim near Colmar in the Alsace region.

Among the deceased were ten adults with mild intellectual disabilities and one caregiver. They were all thought to have been on holiday from the French city of Nancy.