Over 30,000 people have been displaced due to evacuations as wildfires ravage Western France. Firefighters in the Gironde region, an area just six hours away from Disneyland Paris, are struggling to keep multiple blazes contained.
According to the latest press release from the Prefect of New Aquitaine and Gironde, “nearly 1700 firemen from all over France, supported by significant air resources (6 Canadairs and 3 Dash planes)” are presently fighting two significant fires, with frequent utilization of overhead water bombers. Officials are calling the fires extraordinary.
🔥#incendies#Gironde – arrondissement d"#Arcachon Les autorités lancent l'évacuation à titre préventif de la zone artisanale sud de la #LaTestedeBuch jusqu'à l'avenue Gustave Eiffel. Quelques habitations individuelles au sein de cette zone. 👉 Evitez impérativement le secteur pic.twitter.com/1e3gvkssZD
— Préfète de Nouvelle-Aquitaine et Gironde (@PrefAquitaine33) July 18, 2022
Due to extreme weather conditions, firemen share that they are losing any ground they gain when they break throughout the night. To further complicate matters, Europe is currently experiencing its hottest temperatures in history. CNN reported the following about the heatwave:
“In addition to Gironde, Météo-France issued a heatwave red alert to a total of 15 departments in western and southwestern regions, as temperatures are expected to reach as high as 42 degrees Celsius (108 degrees Fahrenheit) Monday. A further 51 regions have been placed under orange alert, including Paris, with residents urged to avoid going outside between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. local time.”
One meteorologist called it a “heat apocalypse,” according to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC.) They also reported more than a thousand heat related deaths between Spain and Portugal alone, stating that events such as this are man made and becoming commonplace.
“Heatwaves have become more frequent, more intense, and last longer because of human-induced climate change. The world has already warmed by about 1.1C since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to emissions.
Enrique Sanchez, the Dean of the Faculty Environmental Sciences and Biochemistry at The University of Castilla-La Mancha in Spain told the BBC that heatwaves would soon become the norm.”
Twitter users are weighing in on the environmental crises taking place around the globe. @JoshuaPotash shared:
So a runway is melting in England, over a thousand people have died in Spain and Portugal, and raging fires are forcing thousands to evacuate in France. This heat wave in Europe is just a preview of what’s to come if we don’t take radical action on a massive scale.
So a runway is melting in England, over a thousand people have died in Spain and Portugal, and raging fires are forcing thousands to evacuate in France. This heat wave in Europe is just a preview of what’s to come if we don’t take radical action on a massive scale.
— Read Wobblies and Zapatistas (@JoshuaPotash) July 18, 2022
User Scott Duncan described the scene in France as “horrific” in his Tweet:
Horrific scenes in south-west France as wild fires continue to blaze. Flames reported over 30m high. This is the fire at Teste-de-Buch (Gironde), which is less than 60km from Bordeaux.
Horrific scenes in south-west France 🇫🇷 as wild fires continue to blaze. Flames reported over 30m high. This is the fire at Teste-de-Buch (Gironde), which is less than 60km from Bordeaux. https://t.co/Z1kBuxaGZ1
With temperatures soaring to record numbers in more than a dozen regions where firefighters are already working diligently to extinguish relentless flames, the next few days are critical to successful containment.
This is a developing story. Inside the Magic will report with updates, and closely monitor Disneyland Paris should they institute operational or safety related changes.
Have you been affected by the wildfires and extreme temperatures in Europe?
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