Paris [France] / Madrid [Spain], July 29: Firefighters are using every available means to bring the wildfires raging along France's Atlantic coast under control as a new heatwave bears down on the country.
The larger of the two blazes near Bordeaux flared up again in places and forced the evacuation of thousands more tourists, while the smaller fire south-west of Bordeaux was brought under control on Monday evening, allowing 15,000 evacuees to return to their homes.
Due to the threatening wildfire situation near the well-known seaside resort of Lacanau, the prefecture in Bordeaux ordered the evacuation of campsites and holiday parks in Lacanau and Lacanau Ocean on Tuesday morning, affecting around 4,000 people.
A new heatwave is expected to bring rising temperatures and falling humidity. Firefighters said on Tuesday morning that heat and wind are hampering efforts to fight the flames, which have not spread further since the weekend. To prevent the fire from spreading, firebreaks were cleared at numerous points in the forest on Monday.
A total of 2,750 firefighters from across France and some from other European countries are deployed, along with 18 water-bombing aircraft, 1,500 soldiers and 1,440 police officers. On Monday afternoon, two transport helicopters and an A400M transport aircraft carrying supplies arrived from Germany in the region.
Turkiye sends water bombers
"We will win this fight," French President Emmanuel Macron declared, thanking Turkiye for sending two of its water-bombing aircraft. France's newly appointed national football coach Zinedine Zidane also paid tribute to the emergency services at his first public appearance in the role. "I would first like to express my support to all the firefighters - many families are going through a very difficult time right now," he said.
The fire came within 15 kilometres of the city of Bordeaux and has destroyed around 42,000 hectares of forest and scrubland, an area of 420 square kilometres.
Progress in Spain's firefighting effort
Emergency services in Spain are reporting significant progress in the fight against several devastating wildfires.
"We can see light at the end of the tunnel," Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said after a crisis committee meeting in Madrid. The government would deploy all available resources "until the last flame is extinguished," he said. The areas affected by the fires have now been declared disaster zones, triggering the release of initial aid.
The Socialist politician also renewed his call for a cross-party climate pact. Denying human-caused climate change was "the worst fuel" in the fight against fires and the climate crisis, Sanchez warned journalists.
Firefighting efforts are meanwhile becoming a race against the clock, with the national weather service AEMET announcing the start of the summer's fourth heatwave for Wednesday - expected to last at least until Sunday. Temperatures of up to 42 degrees Celsius and falling humidity could significantly hamper operations.
The wildfires are hitting hardest in the province of Ávila, west of Madrid, and the neighbouring regions of Madrid and Toledo, where the flames have together destroyed nearly 80,000 hectares of forest and scrubland so far. The spread of the fires has slowed considerably since the weekend, however.
A total of 34 wildfires were also active across Portugal on Tuesday morning, though all remain significantly smaller than those in neighbouring Spain.
Source: Qatar Tribune
