Wildfires ravage over 1,300 hectares of historic forest near Paris

PARIS, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 14th Jul, 2026) France on Monday battled two fires that scorched more than 1,300 hectares in a forest south of Paris, AFP reported.

The fire erupted Sunday in the sprawling Fontainebleau forest, a former royal hunting estate that today is dotted with quiet villages, about 60 kilometers (40 miles) southeast of the capital.

As the region sweltered through its latest heat wave, the wildfire — rare in the north of the country — quickly spread across the UNESCO biosphere reserve, disrupting rail and road traffic during the busy holiday long weekend.

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Throughout the day, aircraft in the skies and firefighters on the ground tried to douse the flames.

By Monday afternoon, it had raced across almost 1,200 hectares (nearly 3,000 acres), Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said.

He said a second fire broke out Monday afternoon and had ravaged about 100 hectares. Around 1,000 people in and around Fontainebleau had been evacuated