Exceptional fires south of Paris consume 1,300 hectares and force the evacuation of 1,000 people

In an unusual occurrence for northern France, the quiet Fontainebleau Forest, located southeast of Paris, turned into a wide front of flames after two fires consumed more than 1,300 hectares, forcing authorities to evacuate approximately 1,000 people, while police detained suspects suspected of deliberately setting the blazes.

Firefighting teams continued their efforts to control the fires that broke out on Sunday in the Fontainebleau Forest, situated about 60 kilometers southeast of the French capital and surrounded by a number of villages.

A heatwave sweeping the region aided the rapid spread of the flames, marking a rare incident of such scale in the north of the country. The fires also disrupted road and rail traffic over the weekend.

By Monday afternoon, the fires had consumed approximately 1,200 hectares, according to French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, before a second fire broke out later, consuming an additional 100 hectares, coinciding with the evacuation of around 1,000 people from Fontainebleau and surrounding areas.

Police arrested two individuals suspected of deliberately setting the fires, including an 18-year-old with no criminal record, whose hands were found covered in ash and who was in possession of a lighter, according to a source close to the investigation.

Jean-Marc Sicard, the incident commander, stated that firefighting teams carried out 187 water drops, noting that approximately 600 personnel remained on high alert throughout the night as teams rotated to combat the blaze.

He added that the fire continued to spread due to unfavorable weather conditions, despite a temporary decrease in intensity.

For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed via the “X” platform that all available resources were being deployed to tackle what he described as an “exceptionally large forest fire.”

The Interior Minister clarified that authorities were investigating the possibility of arson, pointing out that about ten ignition points had been detected within a radius of no more than 1,000 meters, reinforcing the hypothesis of deliberate action.

During the night, several farmers participated in firefighting efforts, using tractors to pull water tanks and direct hoses toward the fire zones. Authorities also deployed two Canadair aircraft, marking the first use of this type of plane in the Paris region.

The fires led to the closure of sections of the A6 highway leading out of the capital. Meanwhile, the national railway company announced the repair of cables damaged by the fires, allowing normal high-speed train traffic between Paris and Lyon to resume.

France is experiencing its third heatwave in less than three months, coinciding with fires breaking out in various parts of the country, as part of a series of extreme weather events that scientists link to the increasing severity caused by human-induced climate change.

According to official data, France recorded more than 2,000 heat-related deaths during the June heatwave, in addition to 300 deaths in late May. Since the beginning of the year, forest fires have consumed approximately 25,000 hectares, double the area recorded during the same period last year.