Historic forest ravaged by flames
French President Emmanuel Macron visited the firefighter command center at Noisy-sur-Ecole on Thursday to survey damage from the wildfires that have consumed at least 2,000 hectares of the historic Fontainebleau forest south of Paris. "Your forest is our forest because it is a treasure," Macron said as he announced a fundraising campaign to replant the damaged area. The fire forced 1,000 residents to evacuate and required hundreds of firefighters to contain.
Fontainebleau, a 20,000-hectare woodland that has inspired generations of French artists and serves as a weekend escape for Parisians, suffered its worst fire in decades. The blaze comes during a European heatwave that has hit France and Spain particularly hard.
Canadian wildfire smoke reaches US
Across the Atlantic, smoke from hundreds of wildfires in Canada blanketed a vast swath of the United States from the Midwest to the Northeast. New York City was shrouded in an orange haze as air quality reached unhealthy levels. Officials urged residents to stay indoors. The smoke has complicated preparations for the World Cup final scheduled for Sunday at New York New Jersey Stadium, though rain is expected to clear the air by game time.
Climate context
Scientists have linked the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires to climate change. A separate report from the National Academy of Sciences this week examined extreme climate event attribution, confronting political climate denialism with scientific evidence. Ontario requested federal assistance to evacuate remote northern communities ravaged by wildfires as the situation in Canada deteriorated.