Pope calls for prayers for victims of the ‘devastating wildfires’
At the end of his Sunday Angelus prayer, Pope Leo XIV referenced “the devastating wildfires” in France and Spain and said: “I express my solidarity and invite everyone to pray for those affected and for the work of the rescue workers.”
An estimated 42,000 hectares (162 square miles) had burned in Gironde, the region’s prefecture said, much of it forests and scrubland made tinder-dry by successive heat waves. That is seven times the area of Manhattan island and four times the size of Paris.
Firefighters raced in trucks to fight flare-ups and planes dropping water and retardants rotated in the smoke-filled air. Farmers delivered water in tanks to fire crews so they could fight the flames without interruption.
“This allows firefighters to focus on the fire,” said Theo Hernandez, a wine grower. “It’s very strong, very virulent, it’s spreading everywhere.”
The number of firefighters mobilized grew to 2,500, backed by 18 planes and helicopters, including from other European nations. Soldiers have also been called in. A giant A400M military cargo aircraft dropped plumes of ochre-colored retardant.
The Gironde prefecture said 75 firefighters were treated for injuries. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed.
Blaze has created virulent firestorms
In a first for France, the blaze alarmingly developed into a self-feeding firestorm on several occasions, most recently on Saturday night, generating lightning bolts that can start new flare-ups, authorities said.
“It’s like being confronted by a hurricane,” said Gironde fire chief Marc Vermeulen.
Forecast high temperatures starting Tuesday could complicate the firefighting, Gironde prefect Sophie Brocas said.
Evacuees won’t be allowed back to their towns and villages until the blaze is brought under control, she warned. She urged holiday makers not to come to the region that has popular Atlantic beaches and some of France’s largest woodlands.
Fire creeps toward Bordeaux but the city isn’t evacuating
Bordeaux Mayor Thomas Cazenave described the blaze as being “at the gates of the metropolitan area,” about 15 kilometers (9 miles) away at its closest point.
But Cazenave said an evacuation of Bordeaux is not on the cards for now. The city is home to 268,000 people.
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