A huge blaze that has ravaged parts of south-west France was largely contained on Friday, but firefighters face another “complicated” day, local authorities said.
The 40-kilometer active fire front in the Gironde and Landes departments around Bordeaux “has not developed, but weather conditions are forcing us to be extremely vigilant,” Deputy Prefect Ronan Leaustic told reporters.
Temperatures of around 37 degrees Celsius were expected in the fire zone on Friday, slightly lower than the day before.
No new evacuations have been ordered, in addition to the 10,000 people who have already been ordered to leave, Leaustic added.
But “today, things will probably get complicated as temperatures continue to rise and water tables continue to drop,” he said.
The approximately 1,100 French firefighters on the ground were to be reinforced by 361 comrades from neighboring European countries, including Germany, Poland, Austria and Romania, as well as several depth-bomb planes from the European Union fleet.
In the hard-hit area around the village of Hostens, the thick smoke seen on Thursday had given way to blue skies and occasional clouds by Friday morning, an AFP journalist noted.
France has been hit this summer by the historic drought that has led to nationwide restrictions on water use, as well as a series of heatwaves that experts say are being caused by climate change.
The fire near Bordeaux broke out in July – the driest month in France since 1961 – destroying 14,000 hectares and forcing thousands of people to evacuate before it could be contained.
But it continued to smolder in the dry pine forests and peaty soils.
Officials suspect arson may have played a role in the latest flare-up, which has burned 7,400 hectares (18,000 acres) since Tuesday.
– ‘Compulsion to adapt’ –
Fires in 2022 have devastated an area three times the annual average over the past 10 years, with fires also active in the Alpine Jura, Isere and Ardeche this week.
The Ardèche fire “is far from under control because the scene of the fire is very difficult to reach,” said Jean Jaussaud, commander of the local rescue services.
European Copernicus satellite data showed that the forest fires in France released more carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas in 2022 – over a million tonnes – than in any summer since records began in 2003.
As of Friday, 19 departments were still on Meteo-France weather agency’s highest orange heat alert level, with the temperature forecast to reach 40 degrees Celsius in some places.
This year’s summer was similar to predictions for “an average mid-century summer” under pessimistic climate change scenarios, Meteo-France expert Jean-Michel Soubeyroux told AFP.
The temperatures are “unprecedented,” said winemaker Maurin Berenger from the southwestern department of Lot.
“We had to adapt, we work very early in the morning or even at night. I started last night at 3am and people with farmhands start at 6am to avoid the heat.”
Paris-based pensioner Caroline Dubois, 72, said she “keeps all the windows open in the apartment so there’s a breeze”.
Weather forecasts suggest France’s third heatwave this year will be interrupted by storms over the weekend.
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