Firefighter dies while battling blaze in French Alps

A firefighter died while fighting a forest fire in the Savoie region in the French Alps

Forest fires, which have been ravaging southern Europe since last week, have caused thousands of people to leave their homes in France.

“I learned with deep sadness this morning that a young 22-year-old volunteer firefighter from SDIS 73 died in the line of duty after spending part of the night fighting a forest fire in Savoie,” French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on channel X on Wednesday.

Heat waves in France and Western Europe in May and June dried out large areas of land, making these areas particularly vulnerable to wildfires.

Temperatures are expected to reach 40C once again in southwestern France this week.

The European Commission has pre-positioned a record number of 777 firefighters from 14 European countries to high-risk areas in Cyprus, Greece, Italy, France, Spain and Portugal.

Portugal and France activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism over the weekend due to forest fires burning simultaneously and scorching thousands of hectares.

The Trevillach forest fire in France’s Pyrenees-East destroyed 4900 hectares of land.

The local governor said in X that the move had not been made overnight and allowed a dozen village residents to return to their homes.

However, the fire could not be completely taken under control.