E. Macron has issued a warning about fires: a difficult summer lies ahead, including for the agricultural sector
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday that his country is experiencing its worst forest fires since the Second World War. Fire services in France, Spain and the United Kingdom are battling the massive forest fires.
Meeting with a team of firefighters battling the blaze in the famous Fontainebleau Forest south of Paris, Mr Macron said that this summer would be a difficult one, with records having already been broken even before the peak of the fire season.
Prosecutors have launched an investigation into a company and two of its employees who were using a power cutter whilst carrying out repair work on a nearby motorway. Investigators believe that sparks from the saw set the vegetation alight.
A volunteer firefighter has also been arrested, who admitted to starting the fire using a lighter and petrol, whilst another man reportedly contributed to the outbreak of the fire accidentally by discarding a cigarette butt.
Meanwhile, Spanish authorities reported that the fire in Aragon had already destroyed around 4,500 hectares of woodland, scrubland and agricultural land. The regional government in the north-east of the country reported that the fire near the village of Oréso was still out of control.
Residents have been evacuated from several neighbouring villages, with media reports suggesting that around 500 people have been affected. Officials believe it will take several days to bring the flames under control.
Homes, campsites and other facilities also had to be evacuated due to a forest fire in the Scottish Highlands National Park. The British news agency PA reported that the fire broke out on Wednesday morning and burned throughout the night, engulfing 3.5 km of heather in the Cairngorms National Park. By Thursday afternoon, the fire had been contained, PA reported.
