French wildfires expose buried WWII shells

No one was injured, but dozens of unexploded munitions were discovered after loud explosions rattled the town as flames swept through the area.

Mayor of Le Porge Martial Zaninetti said some of the shells made “war noises” as they were hurled across the area by the heat and force of the fire.

“Shells exploded; some went left and right, crossed areas. One even went through a house,” he was quoted as saying by France Info. 

The discovery came during one of the most violent phases of the fire, which began mid July in the Gironde region, destroying more than 180 homes in Le Porge alone. Smoke and flames rise in Le Porge as a wildfire burns in a forest area in the Gironde department amid worsening drought conditions following a heatwave and water shortages across much of France, July 22, 2026

Local authorities said that the ordnance had been buried in the ground and their presence was unknown to the municipality before the blaze exposed them.

Firefighters and bomb disposal experts were sent in to secure the site.

Wildfire threat eases across France despite heat alerts and storm warnings

On Monday, deminers were still working in the area, where 75 shells had already been recovered since Friday and more were believed to remain.

German and French munitions

The explosives were described as a mix of German and French munitions from World War II, mainly mortar shells, with some tank rounds. One officer said: “It was not an official storage site; we do not really know why they were there, we think they had been somewhat abandoned”.

The discovery has complicated the return of residents to parts of the town. Two housing estates remain sealed off while clearance continues, with warning signs reading: “Absolute danger of death, shells present” . This photograph shows a sign reading "Absolute danger of death, presence of shells" in Le Porge, south-western France on 3 August, 2026, after the discovery of projectiles from World War II in a neighbourhood of the town that is still off-limits after the prefecture authorized the return of thousands of evacuated residents to their residences after wildfires swept through the region.

Once the area is fully secured, the munitions will be taken to a military site for destruction.

The wildfire near Bordeaux has now been brought under control after burning more than 40,000 hectares in around ten days, but the damage and the wartime legacy it uncovered have left the commune facing a double emergency.

(with newswires)