Major forest fires near Paris close A6 motorway as 1,900 hectares burn
Nearly 1,900 hectares of forest near Paris have burned, forcing the closure of the vital A6 motorway and triggering an unprecedented aerial firefighting response in the Île-de-France region.
Two separate forest fires raging near the town of Fontainebleau have destroyed up to 1,900 hectares of woodland and remain entirely uncontained. The initial blaze ignited late on Sunday afternoon, sweeping through roughly 1,500 hectares before a second fire broke out on Monday shortly before 3 pm just outside the town itself.
The most significant immediate impact on regional infrastructure is the ongoing closure of the A6 motorway near Fontainebleau. This route serves as a critical commercial and passenger artery connecting the Paris region to the south of France. Its indefinite closure forces heavy goods vehicles and commuters onto alternative routes, creating localized bottlenecks and compounding logistical costs for freight operators.
The sheer scale of the emergency has prompted a public safety response unprecedented in the Île-de-France region. Nearly 1,000 residents, including the occupants of a local campsite, have been forced to evacuate their homes. While officials insist the urban centre of Fontainebleau and its 15,000 residents are not currently in the fire's path, the precautionary displacements represent a major mobilization of local resources.
To combat the spreading flames, authorities have deployed 850 firefighters alongside 200 ground vehicles. In a highly unusual step for the greater Paris area, the government has scrambled aerial firefighting assets typically reserved for the Mediterranean coast. Four Canadair aircraft, two Dash water bombers and three water-bombing helicopters are now operating over the forest.
Seine-et-Marne prefect Pierre Ory emphasized the historic nature of this deployment at a press conference. "It is a fire of a completely exceptional nature and scale, and resources that are just as exceptional, utterly unusual," he said. "As you can see for yourselves, Dash aircraft and Canadairs flying over the Fontainebleau forest. Until now, that was something we had obviously never seen."
The sudden appearance of these massive aerial tankers so close to the capital underscores a shifting reality for European infrastructure planners. As wildfires traditionally associated with southern Europe increasingly threaten northern forests, the associated costs of deploying specialized regional assets are rising.
Beyond the environmental and economic damage, a criminal investigation is now underway. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez confirmed that authorities suspect the fires were deliberately lit. Police have taken two people into custody, including an 18-year-old man arrested on Monday at 4 pm. Officers reportedly found the suspect carrying a lighter, with his hands covered in soot.
