The 40-kilometer (25-mile) active fire front in the departments of Gironde and Landes around Bordeaux “has developed, but weather situations push us into excessive vigilance,” sub-prefect Ronan Leaustic told reporters.
Temperatures of around 37 degrees Celsius (99 Fahrenheit) were expected in the fire zone on Friday, lower than the previous day.
No new evacuations were ordered in addition to the other 10,000 people already invited to leave, Leaustic added.
But “the day will most likely be complicated, as temperatures continue to drop and the water table continues to fall,” he said.
The approximately 1,100 French firefighters on the ground were to be reinforced through 361 comrades from European neighbors joining Germany, Poland, Austria and Romania, as well as several bomber aircraft from the European Union fleet.
In the affected domain around the village of Hostens, the dense smoke that was noticeable on Thursday had given way on Friday morning to a blue sky and some punctual clouds, an AFP journalist discovered.
France shook off this summer during the historic drought that imposed national restrictions on water use, as well as a series of heat waves that experts say are caused by climate change.
The fire near Bordeaux broke out in July, the driest month on record in France since 1961, destroying 14,000 hectares and forcing thousands to evacuate before it was brought under control.
But for incubating in dry pine forests and peat-rich soils.
Authorities suspect arson played a role in the outbreak, which has burned 7,400 hectares (18,000 acres) since Tuesday.
“Forced to adapt”
The fires of 2022 have devastated 3 times the annual average over the past 10 years, with fires also active in the alpine regions of Jura, Isère and Ardèche this week.
The chimney in Ardèche “is far from being controlled, because it is very difficult to access,” said Jean Jaussaud, commander of the local rescue services.
Data from the European Copernicus satellite showed that more than one million tons of carbon dioxide greenhouse gases were released through the 2022 wildfires in France in any summer since records began in 2003.
On Friday, 19 departments were still at the orange heat alert point set by the Weather-France Meteorological Authority, and the temperature in some places was expected to reach 40 degrees Celsius.
This year’s summer resembled predictions of “an average summer in the middle of this century” in pessimism over climate change, Météo-France coach Jean-Michel Soubeyroux told AFP.
The temperatures were “unprecedented,” said winemaker Maurin Berrenger of the southwest department of Lot.
“We were forced to adapt, we worked very early in the morning or even at night. Last night I started at 3 am, and the farm staff started at 6 am in the heat. “
Parisian retiree Caroline Dubois, 72, “left all the windows of the apartment open so there would be a breeze. “
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