{"id":2135,"date":"2026-07-29T11:39:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T11:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2135"},"modified":"2026-07-29T11:39:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T11:39:17","slug":"france-battles-wildfire-4-times-the-size-of-paris-as-soaring-heat-threatens-new-surge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=2135","title":{"rendered":"France battles wildfire 4 times the size of Paris as soaring heat threatens new surge"},"content":{"rendered":"
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LEGE-CAP FERRET, France (AP) \u2014 Firefighters in southwest France<\/span> battled an uncontained wildfire<\/span> four times the size of Paris on Wednesday as temperatures were forecast to reach 40 C (104 F), threatening to turn a calm night into only a brief reprieve.<\/p>\n

Read more A 2:47 a.m. alert, a rabbit and 220,000 evacuees as France\u2019s wildfire rages on<\/a><\/p>\n

Authorities in the Gironde region said the blaze had not spread overnight, but rising heat and afternoon winds could revive smoldering hot spots, carry embers across firebreaks and open new fronts beyond crews\u2019 reach.<\/p>\n

At the command center in L\u00e8ge, firefighters bent over maps spread across a car hood, tracking three danger zones: northern Cap-Ferret; the wooded corridor around Marcheprime, Cestas and Saint-Jean-d\u2019Illac; and a military site near Martignas, where a major outbreak forced a large deployment.<\/p>\n

More than 2,200 firefighters and over 20 aircraft remained mobilized, backed by crews from across France and European partners.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe strike quickly and strike hard at any new smoke emissions,\u201d Gironde fire commander Matthieu Jomain said.<\/p>\n

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Wednesday expected to be the week\u2019s hottest, driest day<\/h2>\n

The advance of major fires in the Landes and Var regions have been halted. That left Gironde as France\u2019s biggest remaining wildfire battle, Interior Minister Laurent Nu\u00f1ez said.<\/p>\n

The Gironde fire forced 220,000 people<\/span> to flee at the peak of the crisis. Tens of thousands have since been allowed home, but authorities warned that the danger had not passed.<\/p>\n

Extreme heat<\/span> strips moisture from vegetation and drives down humidity, turning grasses, brush and forest litter into faster-burning fuel.<\/p>\n

M\u00e9t\u00e9o-France said Wednesday would be the hottest and driest day of the week, with elevated wildfire danger across every region of France. Drought now covers mainland France and Corsica, with soils nearing the record dryness reached in August 2022.<\/p>\n

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Smoke from the Gironde and Landes fires also pushed particulate pollution higher across both departments, regional air-quality monitors said.<\/p>\n

Gironde authorities ordered 4,000 more people out of tourist sites along the Atlantic coast<\/span> on Tuesday, widening what may be France\u2019s largest peacetime evacuation.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe situation remains complicated. That\u2019s clear. We\u2019re not out of the woods,\u201d said Gironde prefect Sophie Brocas, who also authorized 60,000 evacuees to return to three Bordeaux suburbs untouched by fire.<\/p>\n

Read more Fringe Israeli settler group is sneaking into Syria to try to claim land for a Jewish outpost<\/a><\/p>\n

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