The wind “could reignite the fire” that “is in a state of pause,” Menousse warned.
Wind & thunderstorms expected around contained French wildfire. French firefighters were keeping a wary eye on a huge blaze that appeared to be contained in the country s southwest, with thunderstorms and strong wind gusts expected in the area overnight.
The 40-kilometre (25-mile) fire front in the Gironde and Landes departments around Bordeaux “did not significantly progress overnight. Firefighters are working on its periphery,” police said in a statement.
But officials said it was premature to say that the blaze — which has already reignited once — was under control.
“We remain vigilant” because “while we can t see huge flames, the fire continues to consume vegetation and soil,” Arnaud Mendousse, lieutenant colonel of Gironde fire and rescue, told media.
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Weather forecasters are expecting thunderstorms with wind gusts of up to 60 kilometres an hour in the region in the evening.
The wind “could reignite the fire” that “is in a state of pause,” Menousse warned.
EU members including Germany, Poland, Austria and Romania have pledged reinforcements totalling 361 firefighters to join the roughly 1,100 French ones on the ground, along with several water-bombing planes from the European Union fleet.
Most of the reinforcements had arrived on the ground, with the last 146 firefighters from Poland expected later on Saturday.
France has been buffeted this summer by a historic drought that has forced water use restrictions nationwide, as well as a series of heatwaves that experts say are being driven by climate change.
