France deploys water bombers to tackle wildfire outside Paris
More than 400 French firefighters battled through the night to bring a wildfire under control in the historic Fontainebleau forest south of Paris, as authorities deployed two waterbombing aircraft on Monday to help contain the blaze amid a severe heatwave across western Europe.
The fire broke out near a highway close to Fontainebleau, a region known for its famous royal palace that once served as a hunting retreat and seasonal residence for French monarchs. By midnight, the flames had destroyed more than 800 hectares (1,980 acres) of woodland, intensified by strong, hot winds.
Located about 70 kilometres (43.5 miles) from Paris, the wildfire forced the closure of the A6 motorway, a major route connecting the capital to Lyon and southern France. Smaller fires in the area also disrupted high-speed train operations.
French firefighters said efforts to contain the blaze were continuing, while nearby residents were warned that Canadair firefighting planes would collect water from the River Seine to assist with operations.
The wildfire comes as Europe faces another period of extreme heat, with scientists linking the growing frequency and intensity of heatwaves and wildfires to climate change. Large areas of the continent have been left extremely dry, creating conditions that fuel the spread of fires.
Recent wildfires have affected several European countries, including France, Spain, Portugal and Greece, burning thousands of hectares of land.
In Spain, the death toll from a wildfire in the southeastern Almeria region rose to 13 after a 93-year-old British woman died from injuries sustained in the blaze.
Western Europe is currently experiencing its third extended period of extreme heat this summer. A previous heatwave in late June was estimated to have contributed to thousands of deaths, with more than 10,000 excess fatalities reported across several countries. The extreme temperatures also disrupted electricity supplies, forced school closures and caused record-breaking heat levels in France, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Lasse Vestergaard, chief physician at Denmark’s Statens Serum Institut, which runs the EuroMOMO mortality monitoring system, said the unusually high number of excess deaths was difficult to attribute to anything other than the extreme heat.
“To have this kind of excess at this time of year is unusual. It’s really high,” he said.
Source: Reuters
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