Wildfires ravage over 1,300 hectares of historic forest near Paris

ARBONNE-LA-FORÊT — France on Monday battled two fires that scorched more than 1,300 hectares in a forest south of Paris, as police arrested two people suspected of arson.

The fire erupted Sunday in the sprawling Fontainebleau forest, a former royal hunting estate that today is dotted with quiet villages, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) southeast of the capital.

As the region sweltered through its latest heat wave, the wildfire — rare in the north of the country — quickly spread across the UNESCO biosphere reserve, disrupting rail and road traffic during the busy holiday long weekend.

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READ: Major fire rages in Fontainebleau forest near Paris

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Throughout the day, aircraft in the skies and firefighters on the ground tried to douse the flames.

By Monday afternoon, it had raced across almost 1,200 hectares (nearly 3,000 acres), Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said.

He said a second fire broke out Monday afternoon and had ravaged about 100 hectares. Around 1,000 people in and around Fontainebleau had been evacuated.

One of the two suspects arrested is an 18-year-old man with no criminal record. His hands were covered in soot, and he had a lighter when he was detained, according to a source close to the case.

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Clement Boher, a 37-year-old resident, said he and his family had been on alert since he saw plumes of smoke rise above the forest Sunday night.

“Like everyone else, we’re on standby, vehicles ready and a backpack packed. All we can do is wait,” he said.

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The scale of the fire led to the deployment of four Canadair aircraft — an unprecedented move in the greater Paris region — as well as two Dash aircraft and three water-bombing helicopters.

A total of 187 water drops were carried out, rescue operations commander Jean-Marc Sicard said at the scene Monday evening.

At nightfall, around 600 firefighters remained mobilized and would take turns fighting the flames on the ground, he said.

“The fire is still spreading” because weather conditions were “not very favorable” Monday evening, despite “a brief lull,” he said.

‘Farmers help’

Nunez said on an evening television news program that 59 people had been arrested across France, including two in connection with the Fontainebleau fire, for “deliberate or accidental arson.”

President Emmanuel Macron said on X that all available resources had been deployed to fight what he described as “an exceptionally large wildfire.”

Nunez said authorities were investigating whether the fire was intentionally set.

“There were about 10 fire ignition points within a perimeter of 1,000 meters, which suggests it could have been deliberately set,” he said.

France is weathering a third heat wave in less than three months, with fires raging in several parts of the country over the past week.

It is the latest deadly episode of extreme weather, the increasing frequency of which scientists have linked to human-caused climate change.

On Sunday night, residents chipped in to help.

Farmers in tractors hauled water cisterns and aimed hoses at the blaze.

Cindy Fuyard, a 45-year-old nurse, fled her home in the village of Le Vaudoue, then returned to give firefighters access to the water in her swimming pool.

“With global warming, it was to be expected,” she said, referring to the wildfire so far north.

‘Trains resume’

The fire shut down the A6 motorway leading southeast from Paris, and parts of the highway remained closed Monday, according to Google Maps.

But the national railway service said it had repaired cables burned by the fire Sunday, allowing it to resume normal service for high-speed trains connecting the capital with the southeastern city of Lyon.

READ: Big wildfires hit southern France

The country recorded more than 2,000 excess deaths during the June heat wave and 300 during the high temperatures in late May, according to official figures.

Since the start of the year, wildfires have scorched some 25,000 hectares of land in France — an area nearly as large as Edinburgh and twice as much as during the same period last year — Director General of Civil Security Julien Marion said Friday.

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Temperatures were expected to remain high through France’s Bastille Day national holiday Tuesday, according to the Météo-France weather service. /das