France's forest fires: 32,000 hectares burned since January 2026 as firefighters warn of inadequate resources

Herz — Sport Desk · 13 July 2026 at 19:05 · 30s summary · 2 min read

What we know

Since the beginning of 2026, 32,000 hectares have burned in France. This figure already exceeds the total recorded during the entire 2025 season, according to the Interior Minister.

A fire is currently burning in the Fontainebleau Forest in Seine-et-Marne and has consumed nearly 1,000 hectares. Over the weekend, farmers reinforced firefighting efforts by securing water tanks to their tractors.

Insufficient resources, say firefighters

On July 13, 2026, Sébastien Delavoux, a firefighter and spokesperson for the CGT des Sdis — France's departmental fire and rescue services, government agencies that manage firefighters at the departmental level — stated on France Inter that resources are insufficient in the face of current fire risks.

we are not up to the challenges

— Sébastien Delavoux, firefighter, CGT des Sdis, France Inter, July 13, 2026

In 2021, the CGT had already alerted the Interior Minister: 1,000 water tankers dedicated to forest fires had been lost.

After the 2022 fire season, Emmanuel Macron announced the purchase of 1,083 firefighting engines, with delivery scheduled by 2027. The CGT reports that these engines are not all water carriers and have not all arrived.

Timeline

1. The CGT alerts the Interior Minister to the loss of 1,000 water tankers dedicated to forest fires.