LÈGE-CAP-FERRET (France), July 30 — Rainfall brought some relief to firefighters battling a major wildfire near the French city Bordeaux on the Atlantic coast on Thursday morning, German Press Agency (dpa) reported.
“We’re hoping for showers throughout the morning,” regional fire service commander Matthieu Jomain was quoted as saying by the Sud-Ouest newspaper.
“The conditions this morning, with 80 per cent humidity, are ideal for us to continue our operations and efficiently extinguish any remaining embers,” he said.
Firefighters have been battling massive wildfires on the southwestern coast of France for days, leading to the evacuation of tens of thousands of people, including tourists from campsites and holiday parks.
The flames came within 15 kilometres of the city of Bordeaux and have destroyed around 42,000 hectares of forest and scrubland, an area of 420 square kilometres.
France and neighbouring Spain have been fighting to contain a series of severe wildfires fuelled by high temperatures and dry vegetation, with scientists pointing to climate change as the driver for more severe, frequent fires.
Jomain said the situation near Bordeaux was developing positively, but emergency forces remained on high alert.
He reported that “the night passed very quietly” although “six new fire outbreaks were tackled.”
A total of 230 firefighters have so far been injured while on duty in the fire-affected region near Bordeaux, according to the prefecture.
