Overview
- President Emmanuel Macron visited the command post on Thursday and said the 2026 season is the worst since World War II as roughly 950 firefighters remain on site working to control the Fontainebleau blaze.
- Investigators say the first fire likely began on July 12 when sparks from an angle grinder during emergency repairs on the A6 ignited roadside vegetation.
- Two workers from the contractor involved in the A6 repairs have been placed under formal investigation and the company manager has been presented to a judge; separately two 18‑year‑olds were indicted and jailed on accusations of deliberate ignitions in the area.
- Authorities say the fire is 'fixed' but not extinguished because peat‑rich and sandy soils smoulder underground and can re‑ignite, so crews use continuous wetting, ground checks, drones and thermal cameras and have received military engineering reinforcements and aerial support.
- The blaze burned about 2,000 hectares, forced the evacuation of nearly 1,000 residents and closed some 20 km of the A6 before a phased reopening, prompting a national fundraising 'guichet unique' and renewed debate over aerial firefighting capacity and long‑term forest restoration.