‘We stared into an abyss’: the men and women battling France’s megafire — SkimNews
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- The megafire consumed 42,000 hectares (104,000 acres) of mainly forestland west of Bordeaux and forced about 200,000 evacuations, and though now contained it still produces daily outbreaks pushed by an underground 'zombie fire' tracked by thermal-camera drones.
- Firefighters, soldiers and volunteers at Le Porge said they had 'gone beyond what we thought possible,' with the struggle shifting from a 'war of manoeuvre' to a long 'war of attrition' as crews work 12-hour shifts under 35C heat.
- Local contractor Nicolas Di Domenico said the blaze began when a spark from a faulty machine cleaning a high-tension cable near Saumos ignited dry forest; his electricians tried fire extinguishers but 'it was too intense' before the fire brigade arrived.
- CGT union firefighting chief Sebastien Delavoux said France's firefighters have 'reached the extreme limit' and that the CGT had warned since 2017 about the country's aging fleet of firefighting planes, which residents say was never replaced.
- Mayor of Le Porge Martial Zaninetti said 20% of the village's homes were lost 'by a miracle,' described conditions as 'totally exceptional,' while residents accused the local administration of being 'asleep at the wheel' before the blaze.
- The fire is part of a wider European emergency, with blazes in Var (forcing George and Amal Clooney to evacuate), Fontainebleau, Corsica and Dijon, plus record 2026 fires in Spain, a 120-firefighter Suffolk blaze in the UK, and three firefighter deaths in Crete, Greece.
- President Emmanuel Macron said last week it was not the time to 'analyse lessons to be learned' while France was still in 'full battle'; prefect Sophie Brocas told residents they were 'gradually getting back to normal' as evacuees began leaving a Bordeaux exhibition hall.
Why it matters: With 200,000 evacuated and 42,000 hectares scorched, this megafire is forcing immediate political accountability — Macron has refused to draw lessons yet, but the CGT union, Le Porge's mayor and residents are openly asking why France's aging firefighting plane fleet wasn't replaced after warnings dating to 2017, reshaping how the country prepares for what scientists say could be another month of summer fire weather.
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