Firefighters from Germany went to France on Thursday to help put out wildfires in the country. The German aid comes at the request of the European Union. France has been battling persistent forest fires in several regions for weeks.
At 3.30 am, fire trucks from the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony, bordering the Netherlands, left for southwestern France. It concerns 20 vehicles and 65 firefighters. The Germans are expected to start extinguishing the fire on Thursday evening.
It is the second time that German firefighters help another European country after a request via the European Union. In 2019, Germans helped on the Greek island of Peloponnese.
The forest fire that has flared up in the French department of Gironde, south of Bordeaux, has already set fire to more than 6,200 hectares. On Wednesday evening, the fire continued to spread, including to the adjacent Landes department. About ten thousand people have had to leave their homes as a precaution.
The local authorities spoke at a press conference on Wednesday evening of a “zealous fight” against the fire, which the fire service “continues to surprise”. “It is as if we are dealing here with a monster that has brains and behaves tactically,” a spokesperson told the French daily. Sud Ouest about the fire.
A fire truck in action during the forest fire in Gironde.
A fire truck in action during the forest fire in Gironde. Photo: EPA
No civilians injured yet, but firefighters are
No civilian was injured in the fire. The authorities insist that “saving human lives is a priority”.
Several firefighters were injured while fighting the fire. One of them is in serious condition, “with burns on the legs and on the face”. Seventeen houses and two fire trucks have gone up in flames, the French newspaper writes Le Monde.
France suspects arson
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin believes the fire in Gironde may have been started. He even suspects that nine out of ten wildfires are (un)consciously caused by people.
A huge forest fire also raged in the area in July. Then 21,000 hectares of forest burned and nearly 37,000 people had to be evacuated.
Since Wednesday, the forest fire has also closed the A63 motorway, an important car route from Bordeaux to the Spanish border at Hendaye.
An estimated 3,000 campers and residents of villages north of Montpellier had to leave the area on Wednesday as a precaution. It was feared that a fire, which had already destroyed 700 hectares there, would spread even further.
The French fire brigade will receive help from German colleagues from Thursday.
The French fire brigade will receive help from German colleagues from Thursday. Photo: EPA