Fire rages in the Fontainebleau forest; 800 hectares have already gone up in smoke

The Forest of Fontainebleau, south-east of Paris, was engulfed last night by a fire of “exceptional proportions”, which required an unprecedented deployment of resources in the Île-de-France region, where rail services have been suspended.

A column of smoke rising from the forest was visible from 20 km away, whilst fire engines made their way towards the scene of the fire along narrow forest tracks. They were joined by farmers who had attached water tanks to the backs of their tractors. Despite appeals from the emergency services to stay indoors to avoid exposure to the smoke, residents stepped out onto their doorsteps to watch, in astonishment, the comings and goings of emergency and police vehicles amidst the acrid smoke hanging over the area.

Four hundred firefighters are working to bring the blaze under control; since it broke out along the motorway on Sunday afternoon, it had burnt around 800 hectares by midnight, said Commander Paul-Edouard Laurain, spokesperson for the Departmental Fire and Rescue Service (SDIS). The French Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, is expected to arrive at the scene this morning. The firefighters can no longer rely on the support of the two fire-fighting helicopters and two aeroplanes sent from the south of France, which had dropped fire retardant but were forced to suspend operations at nightfall. This is the first time such aircraft have been deployed in the Paris region.

The fire, described as “very intense” by the emergency services, will require firefighters to remain on the scene for “one or two weeks”, with reinforcements arriving from across France, said Yannis Bouzar, deputy prefect of Fontainebleau, during a press conference. “The aim is to save lives and property,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Eric Brocardi, spokesperson for the National Federation of French Fire Brigades.