The European Commission stated on Thursday that firefighters and aircraft from various European Union nations will assist France in battling a huge forest fire on the Atlantic coast.
After France requested assistance from the European Union to battle a blaze south of Bordeaux that flared again approximately two weeks after it was first put out, firefighters from Germany, Poland, Austria, and Romania will join their French counterparts.
Four firefighting planes that are now stationed in Sweden and Greece will also be sent to France.
According to the prefecture’s announcement on Thursday, there are currently 1,100 emergency personnel battling the blaze, 10,000 people had to flee their houses, and 6,800 hectares of land were completely burnt.
During a tour south of Bordeaux on Thursday, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne expressed her gratitude to the firemen. According to her, France needs to get ready so that it can fight off future wildfires, which are made worse by climate change, even more effectively.
Sustainability and climate change must be taken into account during reforesting, she said. Borne stated at the end of last week that this drought is the worst to have ever been observed in our nation.
This summer, there were also a number of significant forest fires raging in northern France. Approximately 1,400 hectares of land were burnt by a fire near Baugé, according to the Maine-et-Loire prefecture.
The fire was described as “unprecedented” by France’s Environment Minister Christophe Béchu to the daily Libération on Thursday.
The fire department had never encountered a fire there of that size. According to him, the effects of flames could worsen in northern regions due to climate change.
According to the European Commission, France has also asked for information on burned areas from the EU’s Copernicus satellite.
On Twitter, French President Emmanuel Macron thanked everyone and added that 10,000 French firemen and civil protection personnel are presently putting out flames all throughout the nation.
Macron tweeted, “Our partners are supporting France.” The “solidarity of Europe” is effective.
According to the city of Bonn, a specialised unit of firefighters from Bonn, Dusseldorf, Leverkusen, Königswinter, and Ratingen travelled to France from the Rhineland in neighbouring Germany. They were accompanied by fellow soldiers from the state of Lower Saxony, a St. John’s First Assistance supply team, and specialists from the aid group @fire.
Due to the ongoing heatwave, which is forecast to reach 35 degrees Celsius, France is currently suffering a particularly terrible fire season.
In comparison to about 30,000 hectares in 2021, more than 57,000 hectares of land had burnt so far this year, according to EU statistics.
