Two firefighters have died while battling a huge blaze near Bordeaux’s airport in south-west France, officials said. The Bordeaux airport fire began as a brush fire before spreading to a building near one of the airport’s parking lots, according to reports in French media.
Pictures shared on social media showed passengers disembarking a plane as a massive plume of smoke rose nearby. A number of flights scheduled to arrive at Bordeaux–Mérignac airport have been delayed. Some 100 firefighters, backed by specialist aircraft, are reported to be working to extinguish the blaze.
Interior Minister Confirms Deaths, Heads to Scene
France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said he had been informed of the deaths by officials in the Gironde department. Speaking during Tuesday’s question-and-answer session at the French parliament, Nuñez said he would travel to Gironde as soon as possible to oversee the firefighting efforts.
Gironde is one of several French departments ravaged by wildfires in recent days, driven by a series of unusual and prolonged heatwaves.
Second Major Fire Breaks Out in Var Department
Also on Tuesday, a huge fire broke out in France’s south-eastern Var department. The blaze in the Pontevès commune was described as currently out of control and evolving rapidly by the PSFDF volunteer association, which monitors fires across France. The group said 600 firefighters and rescuers had been deployed to contain the fire, with 150 people already evacuated.
France Facing Its Worst Wildfire Year Since World War Two
France has registered nearly 11,000 fires since the start of the year. President Emmanuel Macron said last week that the country has not seen this many blazes since World War Two.
Satellite data released Tuesday by the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) shows that more than 42,000 hectares (103,784 acres) have burned in France between January and mid-July, surpassing the previous record set in 2022.
Climate Change Driving Europe’s Wildfire Crisis
Climate change is driving up temperatures around the world, and Europe is the fastest-warming continent, heating up twice as fast as the global average, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service. This is fuelling more intense summer heatwaves, greater pressure on Europe’s water supply, and more severe wildfires.
The record-breaking temperatures across Europe this summer have led to major wildfires elsewhere on the continent too, most notably in Spain, where at least 13 people have been killed.
