<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/01/wildfire-france-firefighters-battling-france-megafire>
"By noon it is time for a break. The temperature is about 35C, the smell of
ash, cinders and burnt wood hang acrid in the air. At tables laid out in the
shrinking shade on the desiccated grass and sand outside the sports centre in
Le Porge, 200 men and a handful of women have gathered. Firefighters, soldiers,
police, gendarmes, officials, first aid teams, foresters and volunteers sit
elbow to elbow, plates of sausages, steak and potatoes in front of them.
The village was evacuated just over 14 hours after the “megafire” – as it has
become known in France – broke out 6km away last week. The blaze has consumed
42,000 hectares (104,000 acres) of mainly forestland west of Bordeaux. Though
finally contained, there are outbreaks every day, pushing to the limit
emergency services and the hundreds of amateurs who have come to their aid.
“We’ve turned a corner but we are very, very tired. We have gone beyond what we
thought possible,” said a senior firefighter at Le Porge, downing a litre of
water in less than a minute. “We stared into an abyss.”
Overhead, three planes carrying huge tanks of water and retardant flew low
towards new fires. A drone buzzed nearby, sent up by the fire brigade to detect
with thermal cameras the creeping underground blaze – described by local media
as a “zombie fire” – that threatens fresh chaos in the coming days, weeks and
months."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
