France, July 30:
A wildfire covering an area four times the size of Paris remained uncontained in southwest France on Wednesday as temperatures were forecast to reach 40 C (104 F), threatening to erase firefighters’ overnight gains. Authorities in the Gironde region said the blaze had not spread further during a calm night, but warned that forecast heat and winds could cause the flames to surge again.
At the command centre in Lege, firefighters bent over maps spread across a car hood as commanders tracked three danger zones: northern Cap-Ferret, the wooded corridor around Marcheprime, Cestas and Saint-Jean-d’Illac, and a military site near Martignas, where a significant new outbreak required a major deployment. More than 2,200 firefighters and over 20 aircraft remain mobilised, supported by crews from across France and European partners. ” We strike quickly and strike hard at any new smoke emissions,” Gironde fire commander Matthieu Jomain said.