Two firefighters have died within minutes of arriving at a blaze near Bordeaux–Mérignac Airport, as flames reaching 30 metres high swept through a pine forest and grounded flights.
The fire erupted at around 2.30pm on Tuesday from a grassy, wooded area on Avenue Roland Garros, close to the airport’s car park, before spreading to a building. One hectare of land went up in flames, sending a huge plume of smoke across the sky that passengers captured on video as they disembarked from an easyJet flight.
“Two firefighters died within minutes battling a blaze near Bordeaux airport, as flames reached 30 metres high and grounded flights.”
Marc Vermeulen, director of the Gironde departmental fire and rescue service (SDIS), told French news outlet Le Monde that the two firefighters were aboard a tanker truck when they were “confronted with a very violent” fire that “trapped” them in a “very dense” pine forest. “Accompanied by swirling winds, the situation was very unfavourable,” Vermeulen added.
Some 100 firefighters, backed by specialist aircraft, are still battling the blaze. The cause is unclear, according to the Association for the Prevention and Reporting of Forest Fires, but the fire is no longer spreading. Several flights scheduled to arrive were delayed and others stopped from taking off. Sophie Vergnères, the airport’s marketing and communication manager, told AFP: “It was indeed impressive. From a distance, it was quite impressive.”
French president Emmanuel Macron wrote on X: “I offer my condolences, gratitude and support of the nation to their families, loved ones and the firefighters of France.” Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said he had been informed by officials in the Gironde department and would travel there “as soon as possible” to oversee firefighting efforts.
Gironde is one of several French departments ravaged by wildfires in recent days amid a series of unusual and prolonged heatwaves. The second-highest alert for forest fires, red, is in effect in Gironde, banning campfires and electric engines in forests, with almost all recreational activities prohibited from 2pm to 10pm. On the same day, a huge out-of-control fire broke out in the south-eastern Var department, where 600 firefighters and rescuers were deployed and 150 people evacuated.
France has registered nearly 11,000 fires since the beginning of the year, with President Macron saying last week that there had not been so many blazes since World War Two. Satellite data from the European Forest Fire Information System (Effis) shows that more than 42,000 hectares burned between January and mid-July, surpassing the previous record set in 2022. Climate change is driving up temperatures, with Europe heating up twice as fast as the global average, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, leading to increased summer heatwaves and more intense wildfires.
