More than one thousand firefighters are battling a monster wildfire in south-western France that has already destroyed nearly seven hectares of forest, officials say. The raging blaze near the city of Bordeaux has gutted a number of homes and forced no fewer than ten thousand residents to flee. Meanwhile, firefighter representative Gregory Allione, who confirmed the incident described it as an ogre and a monster. He also asserted that strong winds and high temperatures are hampering the firefighting operation.
President Emmanuel Macron announced that Austria, Germany, Greece, Poland and Romania are coming to aid France in battling the blaze. This summer France and a number of other European countries have seen a wave of deadly wildfires, triggered by record temperatures and droughts across the continent. More than one thousand deaths have been attributed to the heat in Portugal and Spain.