An uncontained wildfire four times the size of Paris threatened to surge again in southwest France on Wednesday, as three firefighters died in Greece and crews across southern Europe confronted a punishing mix of heat, drought and strong winds. In the forest of Fontainebleau, south of Paris, firefighters were able to gain the upper ground and contain Wednesday's flare-up. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates.
The fire that broke out Wednesday afternoon southwest of the French city of Dijon burned across 125 hectares without causing any injuries or damage to homes, the Côte-d’Or prefecture announced.
Fanned by the wind, the fire gradually spread, and by around 10:30 pm, “125 hectares had been affected (…) of which 50 to 70 hectares were burned,” the prefecture stated in a press release. “No injuries have been reported, and no homes have been affected at this time,” it added.
This fire has mobilized 151 firefighters and 78 fire trucks, and reinforcements from other departments are expected. Earlier in the day, two water-dropping helicopters provided assistance, but the water drops were suspended at nightfall.
“The fire in Fontainebleau has been contained. We’re maintaining a large-scale response effort tonight and tomorrow [Thursday],” Yannis Bouzar, the subprefect of Fontainebleau, told Agence France-Presse by phone shortly after midnight on Thursday.
The area burned by this fire had been “revised downward to 6 hectares,” in consultation with the National Forestry Office (ONF), as Sébastien Avenel, deputy director of the department’s fire department, had specified shortly before 11 pm in a phone call.
Welcome to the France 24 liveblog covering wildfires in Europe. You can catch up on yesterday's developments here.
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Three firefighters died battling forest blazes in Greece on Wednesday as several other fires broke out around the country, fed by gale-force winds.
Originally reported by France 24.