Technology and Science17 August, 20262 min read
Sébastien Lecornu Heckled During Wildfire Response as France Announces €12m Aid for Gironde
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Lecornu heckled during visit to Le Porge, Gironde's worst-hit area. France announced €12m aid for Gironde firefighting efforts.
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Wildfires Across Europe
Wildfires continued to burn across Europe as French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu was heckled during a visit to Le Porge in the Gironde region, where 183 homes burned down. The BBC reported that Lecornu announced €12m (£10.3m) of aid for the Gironde and Landes regions, with €10m (£8.5m) for Gironde and €2m (£1.7m) for Landes, and said the money would allow local authorities to "launch projects without delay".
In Belgium, Reuters said rain over eastern Belgium on Monday brought some relief to firefighters battling the country’s biggest wildfire on record in the High Fens, which had threatened to reach the German border. Reuters also reported that the wildfire had burned 576,000 hectares (2,225 square miles) across Europe this year, citing European Forest Fire Information System data, and that the High Fens blaze had burned 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres).
EU Aid and Disputes
The Guardian said the European Commission deployed assistance to Belgium and Spain as part of the bloc’s civil protection mechanism, dispatching two Swedish planes to Belgium and 104 ground firefighters with 36 vehicles from France to Aragón.
The Guardian also reported that the EU continued to support emergency efforts with satellite mapping through its Copernicus service, as French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu was booed on arrival to Le Porge.
In Belgium, Reuters quoted Nicolas Yernaux, a spokesperson for the administration of the Wallonia region, saying, "We can't say that the fire is contained. It flares up all the time," while noting that evacuated residents had not yet been allowed to return home.
Reuters added that the fire penetrated the nature reserve's metres-deep peat bogs, meaning it could take months to fully extinguish, and that peat fires can smoulder underground without flames for long periods.
What Comes Next
Beyond immediate firefighting, the BBC said the EU deployed assistance to Belgium and Spain and that the European Commission said 104 firefighters with 36 vehicles from France had come to assist Spanish authorities in Aragón, where nearly 16,000 hectares have burnt. DW reported that Belgium’s wildfire in the High Fens park destroyed some 3,000 hectares (7,500 acres) and was the country’s largest in modern history, while also noting that King Philippe interrupted his summer vacation to visit the scene and call the park a "national treasure."
Euronews said Greece’s fire service reported 41 forest fires had broken out in the past 24 hours, with three continuing to be dealt with, and it also described two people dying and hundreds being evacuated from Salamis after two fires broke out "almost simultaneously". Reuters said Europe’s fire season was far from over, with the European Forest Fire Information System data showing 576,000 hectares burned across Europe this year and with prosecutors in Belgium opening an investigation into the cause of the blaze.