EU chief praises solidarity of 'heroic' firefighters as flames engulf Europe
France's south-west region of Gironde has endured a hellish week in which more than 7,400 hectares of forest have burned and at least 10,000 people have been evacuated from their homes.
Although they were partially contained during the night, the fires continued to rage on Friday. Authorities say rain is not expected until Sunday at the earliest.
Firefighters from all over Europe have come to the aid of their French colleagues, who are unable to cope with the sheer number of new outbreaks and the re-emergence of fires that had not been completely extinguished.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has praised the solidarity of "heroic" firefighters across the continent. European solidarity appears more necessary than ever in a continent plagued by drought and heatwaves.
Hundreds of European firefighters from Germany, Romania and Italy gathered on Friday to help their French counterparts in the fight against the still active fire in the Gironde and Landes departments.
"We are ready to go on the field," said Colonel Cristian Buhaiànu, head of the 77-strong Romanian detachment in the hot sun.
The operational headquarters is located a few kilometres from the fire at Landiras, where 7,400 hectares have burned since Tuesday.
"We have 1,100 firefighters present, plus an additional 361 personnel and 101 vehicles from European support. They will arrive, some arrived yesterday, like our German and Romanian friends and then our Austrian and Polish friends will arrive later today", said Ronan Léaustic, deputy prefect for Arcachon, which lies 60 kilometres south-west of Bordeaux.
A fire that broke out on Wednesday evening in the southern Ardèche department and ravaged at least 320 hectares "has been fixed", the
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