Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register PARIS, Aug 13 (Reuters) – Firefighters managed to contain a “monster” fire in southwestern France, allowing authorities to reopen a stretch of highway to traffic ahead of a busy travel weekend. “The fire did not progress overnight thanks to the important means used,” the local prefect said in a tweet on Saturday. Aid from across Europe has helped local firefighters tackle the blaze that has been ravaging forests in France’s Gironde region since Tuesday and has forced 10,000 people to evacuate their homes. The fire has been fanned by wind and scorching temperatures of up to 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in recent days. read more Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Southwest France was already hit by wildfires in July that destroyed more than 20,000 hectares of forest and temporarily forced nearly 40,000 people from their homes. Back-to-back heatwaves have fueled wildfires across Europe this summer, shining a spotlight on the risks of climate change to industry and livelihoods. read more Thunderstorms are expected to sweep across France on Saturday night, dropping temperatures and prompting severe weather warnings. More than a thousand French firefighters were supported by hundreds of firefighters from across Europe, as well as trucks and water-bombing aircraft, which continued to arrive on Saturday. Hundreds of firefighters are also battling fires further north in Brittany, where the fire has burned 400 hectares, as well as in the Jura region in the east, where more than 500 hectares have burned. More than 60,000 hectares (230 square miles) have been engulfed in flames so far in France this year, six times the full-year average for the period 2006-2021, according to data from the European Forest Fire Information System. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Mimosa Spencer. Editor: Christina Fincher Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
