LAST UPDATE | 27 Jul

FIRE CREWS AND planes are wrestling to bring a huge wildfire under control in south-west France.

A forecasted jump in temperatures could complicate the massive firefighting effort against the blaze, which has so far burned an area four times the size of Paris.

France’s interior minister Laurent Nunez said the fire has stopped growing, but with woodlands still smouldering, the minister cautioned that the battle is not yet won.

“We have to remain very concentrated, very determined, to go at any moment,” Nunez said.

The fire has forced 220,000 people to flee in the region around the city of Bordeaux. 

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron urged fire crews to “stay strong” as they battled to bring the wildfire under control.

France's President Emmanuel Macron meeting officials during a situation briefing in the crisis room at the Departmental Fire and Rescue Operational Center (CODIS) in Bordeaux. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

On a visit to a coordination centre for the massive firefighting effort in south-west France, Macron heard how the blaze raging since last week has been wildly unpredictable, transforming at times into a self-feeding firestorm.

“We’re facing a completely unprecedented fire,” Macron said, describing the situation as France’s worst fire-related crisis since the Second World War.

He praised firefighting teams who stopped the inferno’s progression on Monday after successive days of spreading flames. But with woodlands still smouldering, he cautioned that the battle is not yet won.

“The weeks ahead will be hard,” he said.

Earlier, Macron held a crisis meeting focused on this wildfire and others that fire crews are continuing to tackle elsewhere in the country.

No new evacuations were announced today, but with France about to enter its peak August tourist season, local authorities are working to keep tourists away, banning holiday camps for children and for people with disabilities.

A De Havilland Canada DHC-8-400 Dash 8 operated by the French civil defence agency drops fire retardant as wildfires rage near Marcheprime, outside Bordeaux Emma Da Silva / AP/PA Emma Da Silva / AP/PA / AP/PA

Nunez urged people to avoid the region, popular for its Atlantic beaches and some of France’s largest woodlands.

“We know temperatures are going to climb again, that we’ll enter a phase of intense heat and so we really have to remain very cautious,” Nunez said.

“As long as the fire isn’t contained, the situation remains unfavourable.”

Crews using earth-movers tore up strips of forest and scrubland to create barren spaces, intended to stop fires from spreading.

Farmers are keeping fire crews supplied with water, transporting it to them in tanks.

Around a dozen countries have provided planes, helicopters, firefighters and other assistance to both France and Spain, which is also fighting unprecedented blazes.

Fires in both countries have forced more than 330,000 people to evacuate.

In Ireland, crews have also been dealing with fires exacerbated by hot and dry conditions.

A fire on Slievenamon in Co Tipperary was brought largely under control towards the end of last week but has persisted in some areas.

Firefighters from Clonmel, Cahir and Carrick-on-Suir stations are still on the ground at Slievenamon, as well as two helicopters provided by the Air Corps and Coillte subcontractors.

Yesterday, a large fire broke out in the Comeragh Mountains in Waterford, which crews have so far prevented from spreading into nearby forestry.