Warning over heightened risk of forest fires in northern France
Two departments have been told they are at increased risk of wildfires on Monday
The map warns of the areas in France most susceptible to forest fires
Alexandros Michailidis / Shutterstock
Two departments in northern France have been warned over a heightened risk of forest fires.
Despite stormy conditions and lashings of rain elsewhere in France, Meuse and Meurthe-et-Moselle, in the north-east of France, have been placed on alert on Monday (June 12).
They have been told they are at ‘increased’ risk, the second-highest level on France’s new wildfire warning system.
Tuesday (June 13), sees three new departments join the list – the neighbouring Moselle department, alongside Paris and the Hauts-de-Seine, bringing the risk of forest fires to the capital.
The forest fire map was launched at the beginning of June, to help authorities and civilians better prepare for forest fires.
Read also: Watch: Floods hit Paris and Toulouse as fresh storms sweep in
‘Very high’ local risk of fires
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The forest fire risk map is hosted by Météo France and updated every evening, to give predictions for the coming two days.
As a reminder, there are four levels of warning on the forest fire map, ranging from ‘low’ to ‘very high’ chance of fires.
Level 3 orange warnings are the second most severe, showing a ‘high / increased’ risk of forest fires in the department.
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In departments labelled at level three, “Weather conditions significantly increase the risk of forest and vegetation fires starting and spreading compared with normal summer conditions,” says the website.
“The risk of fire can be very high locally,” it adds.
You can find a link to the forest fire map from Météo France here.
A number of departments are also facing level two (medium) yellow warnings over forest fon fires both Monday and Tuesday, mostly in the north-east and Île-de-France regions.
Southern departments – usually at a higher risk of forest fire outbreaks due to warmer and drier weather conditions – are currently battling storms and (in places) heavy rainfall, meaning they are at the lowest level.
You can read more about the map through our article here.
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