Firefighters from several European countries are arriving in the city today. France to assist in extinguishing several fires fires rages in forested areas amid alternating heatwaves and historic drought.

A total of 361 firefighters from European countries are heading to the southwest of France to support their 1,100 French colleagues who are fighting day and night against the huge fire in Llandira, which already scorched 140,000 hectares in July.

The European Commission said yesterday that four aircraft of the European Union Fire Fleet were sent to France from Greece and Sweden. Poland announced yesterday that it is sending 146 firefighters to help in the south. According to the French President, they will be deployed from noon.

“Germany, Greece, Poland and, in the next few hours, Romania and Austria: our partners are helping France fight the fires,” Emmanuel Macron tweeted, expressing his gratitude.

“As in July, Italy remains in solidarity with France. “Several Canadians are coming to support the French and European firefighters,” he added a few hours later.

Fires rage in the Gironde (southwest), Girard (east), Drome, Aveyron and Lozère (southeast), apart from countless smaller outbreaks from north to south.

Along a large perimeter around Austin (Gironde), the flames burned 74,000 hectares of forested area in two days and forced 10,000 people to flee their homes, some for the second time in a month.

65 German firefighters with 24 vehicles arrived yesterday at noon Thursday in an area where the sky seemed to be covered with a grayish veil. They were going to make an attempt at dawn.

“We are all firefighters, we understand the situation. It’s going to be a really uphill battle,” given the “length and scope” of the fires, said Simon Fritz, a professional firefighter from Bonn.

In several abandoned houses, one could see letters of thanks from residents – “thank you for our homes”, or “thank you, firefighters”.

More than 400,000 hectares burned in France this year, according to the government, or 500,000 according to European satellites. In any case, this is an area many times greater than the annual average for the past fifteen years, and summer has not even ended yet.

This summer, Spain and Portugal also experienced large-scale fires. More than 1,500 firefighters battled the blaze that has been raging in Portugal’s Serra de Estrella Park for the past few days and has already destroyed about 100,000 hectares, according to European data, yesterday Thursday.

One of the scientifically proven effects of climate change is that heatwaves are multiplying, lengthening and intensifying. Scientists have calculated that in Europe, deaths from heat stress could double or even triple within a century due to global warming.

The current heat wave in France began on July 31 and is the third in a year after those who experienced it in late June and mid-July.

July has been the country’s driest month since March 1961.

Source: RES