Massive Fire in Historic Fontainebleau Forest Near Paris Burns 2000 Acres of Land, Arson Suspected

Hundreds of firefighters are working to stop a large forest fire in Fontainebleau, a historic woodland located about 60 kilometers southeast of Paris. The fire started late Sunday afternoon and has already burned through 800 hectares of trees and brush.

Local officials say the fire is spreading quickly because of a severe heatwave affecting the Paris region. Firefighters warn it could take anywhere from a few days to several weeks to completely put out the flames.

The fire broke out right before the July 14 Bastille Day national holiday, causing major travel delays across France. Part of the A6 highway, which connects Paris to the south of the country, had to be closed due to thick smoke. High-speed train lines were also disrupted, leaving passengers at Paris’s Gare de Lyon station facing delays of up to eight hours on Sunday night. Train services started returning to normal on Monday morning.

As the flames moved closer to nearby villages, emergency workers evacuated about 900 homes. In the small town of Le Vaudoué, half of the 700 residents had to leave their houses. Fortunately, officials confirmed that no homes have been destroyed and no injuries have been reported.

To fight the blaze, France has sent water-bombing planes and helicopters from the south of the country up to the Paris region, which rarely experiences fires of this size. About 400 firefighters are on the ground trying to protect the surrounding towns.

Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez visited the area on Monday morning and announced that police are investigating the cause of the fire. He noted that the flames started in about 10 different spots at the same time, which suggests someone may have set the fire on purpose.

Nuñez added that forest fires have been unusually severe this year, burning 32,000 hectares of land across France so far. He stated that authorities have arrested 44 people across the country this summer on suspicion of starting fires.

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