Source: Fortune.com
Summary
France deployed a military cargo plane to drop flame retardants on raging wildfires in the southwest, forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people. The fires have displaced over 250,000 people across southern Europe, with one death reported in Spain. The Tour de France was also affected, with the final stage shortened and security personnel redeployed to help fight the fires.
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France’s A400M transporter dropped retardants on drought-hit woodlands, while fire crews fought flames that threatened the wine region city of Bordeaux. The Tour de France was truncated, with security personnel redeployed to help fight the fires. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu described the fires as unprecedented, with the Gironde blaze generating its own winds. The French military joined the battle, with 1,400 firefighters deployed to the Gironde fire.
The situation is a “long and very difficult” battle, according to French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez. The fire’s virulence caught authorities off guard, with firefighters in Spain saying they could not tackle the blazes head-on. Climate change has supercharged the fires, with successive heat waves turning forests and scrublands into tinderboxes.
This is what happens when the unthinkable becomes the new normal.
Author: Evan Null
