France's fire emergency has entered a devastating new phase after two firefighters were killed near Bordeaux and an enormous wildfire scorched 42,000 hectares of land in the surrounding Gironde region. The unfolding disaster has shocked the nation, drawing comparisons with previous European fire seasons but surpassing them in scale and severity.
The firefighters died on 21 July while tackling a fierce building fire near Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport. That incident was separate from the vast forest fire that began near Saumos the following day, but the deaths have intensified the strain on emergency services facing France's worst wildfire season on record.
