France’s interior minister said Monday that a monster wildfire has stopped growing after forcing 220,000 people out of their homes in the country’s southwest but cautioned that it isn’t yet beaten. He spoke after French President Emmanuel Macron held a crisis meeting Monday focusing on the massive firefighting effort in the Gironde region and on wildfires elsewhere. FRANCE 24's International Affairs Editor Angela Diffley tells us more.
LEGE-CAP FERRET, France (AP) — Fire crews and planes wrestled Monday to bring a monster wildfire under control in southwest France before a forecast jump in temperatures complicates the massive firefighting effort against a blaze that has burned an area four times the size of Paris.Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the fire had stopped growing, a first glimmer of hope since the inferno forced a staggering 220,000 people to flee in the region around the city of Bordeaux.But with woodlands still smoldering, the minister cautioned that the battle isn't yet won.“It hasn’t progressed during the night,” Nunez said. “We have to remain very concentrated, very determined, to go at any moment.”He spoke after French President Emmanuel Macron held a crisis meeting Monday focused on the blaze in the Gironde region and wildfires that fire crews continue to tackle elsewhere.The Gironde prefecture said the situation overnight remained “globally stable” — a change from previous days when officials said flames had crept to within 15 kilometers (10 miles) of the outskirts of Bordeaux, a historic city of 268,000 people, and generated self-feeding firestorms with lightning bolts that ignited more blazes.No new evacuations were announced Monday. But with France about to enter its peak August tourist season, Gironde authorities worked to keep vacationers away, banning holiday camps for children and for people with disabilities.
Nunez also urged people to avoid the region, popular for its Atlantic beaches and some of France's largest woodlands.In the adjacent southwestern Landes region, where hundreds of firefighters have been making progress against another virulent but smaller fire, the prefecture said some rain fell overnight and described the conditions as “favorable” for firefighting but also cautioned that they could change.Fire crews racing against feared next heat waveWith thousands of firefighters on the ground and rotations of water- and retardant-dropping aircraft in the air, it became a race against time before a forecast surge in temperatures from Tuesday that could make fighting flames more difficult.“We know temperatures are going to climb again, that we'll enter a phase of intense heat and so we really have to remain very cautious,” Nunez said. “As long as the fire isn't contained, the situation remains unfavorable.”Crews using earth movers tore up strips of for… LEGE-CAP FERRET, France (AP) — France’s interior minister says monster wildfire in southwestern Gironde region has stopped growing.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said the fire had stopped growing, a first glimmer of hope since the inferno forced a staggering 220,000 people to flee in the region around the city of Bordeaux. But with woodlands still smoldering, the minister cautioned that the battle isn’t yet won. “It hasn’t progressed during the night,” Nunez said.
The Gironde prefecture said the situation overnight remained “globally stable” — a change from previous days when officials said flames had crept to within 15 kilometers (10 miles) of the outskirts of Bordeaux, a historic city of 268,000 people, and generated self-feeding firestorms with lightning bolts that ignited more blazes. No new evacuations were announced Monday. In the adjacent southwestern Landes region, where hundreds of firefighters have been making progress against another virulent but smaller fire, the prefecture said some rain fell overnight and described the conditions as “favorable” for firefighting but also cautioned that they could change.
Fire crews racing against feared next heat wave With thousands of firefighters on the ground and rotations of water- and retardant-dropping aircraft in the air, it became a race against time before a forecast surge in temperatures from Tuesday that could make fighting flames more difficult. “We know temperatures are going to climb again, that we’ll enter a phase of intense heat and so we really have to remain very cautious,” Nunez said.
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