French firefighters battled raging wildfires in the south-east of the country on Saturday as authorities cautiously monitored a huge blaze that appeared to be contained further west.
France was rocked this summer by a historic drought that imposed nationwide restrictions on water use, as well as a series of heat waves that experts say are caused by climate change .
On Saturday, a “virulent” fire reignited in the Aveyron department near Toulouse forced the evacuation of more than 130 people, officials said, while another fire in the Drôme department, south of Lyon, progressed.
The Aveyron and Drôme fires destroyed more than 1,200 hectares (3,100 acres).
A fire in the fabled Brocéliande Forest in the northwest region of Brittany, where King Arthur roamed, has devastated nearly 400 hectares, but authorities said on Saturday the blaze was no longer progressing.
A 40-kilometre (25-mile) fire front in the Gironde and Landes departments around Bordeaux “also did not progress significantly overnight. Firefighters are working on its outskirts”, the police said. police in a statement.
But officials said it was premature to say the fire – which has already reignited once – was under control.
“We remain vigilant” because “if we do not see huge flames, the fire continues to consume the vegetation and the soil”, declared to AFP Arnaud Mendousse, firefighters and rescuers of Gironde.
Officials suspect arson played a role in the latest outbreak, which has burned 7,400 hectares since Tuesday.
Meteorologists expect thunderstorms with wind gusts of up to 60 kilometers (40 miles) per hour in the region in the evening.
The wind “could rekindle the fire” which “is in a state of pause”, warned Mendousse.
In order to contain the situation, the firefighters of Gironde were busy on Saturday to sprinkle water on the burning and still smoking earth.
Fireworks prohibited
Authorities reopened a highway linking Bordeaux to Spain on Saturday after closing a 20-kilometre section on Wednesday.
Traditional fireworks for the Catholic feast of the Assumption on Monday, when Mary would have entered heaven, have been banned in several regions.
Corsica was whipped by winds blowing at 95 kilometers per hour overnight and hit by hail, Météo-France said.
Forecaster Claire Chanal said storms expected this weekend could bring flooding and hail.
EU members including Germany, Poland, Austria and Romania have pledged reinforcements totaling 361 firefighters to join some 1,100 French firefighters on the ground, as well as several water bomber planes from the European Union fleet.
Most of the reinforcements had arrived on the ground, with the last 146 Polish firefighters arriving late Saturday afternoon.
“Here we are all volunteers. We are trained, we want to help,” said Tone Neuhalfel, a 36-year-old German firefighter.
The Atlantic port of Brest reached 35.9 degrees Celsius (96.6 degrees Fahrenheit), a record for the month of August.
Forbidden forests
In eastern France, police said on Saturday they were barring access to most forests in the Bas-Rhin region near the German border.
Cars, cyclists, hikers, hunters and fishermen are banned from entering until Tuesday, police said in a statement. Only residents will be able to access the area.
“It’s an extreme step in the face of an exceptional situation”, declared Pierre Grandadam, president of a group bringing together the forest municipalities of Alsace.
“Everything is dry, the slightest gesture can cause a fire. I’ve never seen anything like it,” said the 74-year-old.
“We pray for rain.”
The fire near Bordeaux broke out in July – the driest month observed in France since 1961 – destroying 14,000 hectares and forcing thousands of people to evacuate before it was brought under control.
But he continued to smolder in the dry pine forests and peat-rich soils.
Fires in France in 2022 ravaged an area three times the annual average over the past 10 years, with fires also active in the Alpine Jura, Isère and Ardèche regions this week.
Data from Europe’s Copernicus satellite showed that more than a million tonnes of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide had been released by France’s 2022 wildfires than in any summer since the beginning of recordings in 2003.
