Smoke from France industrial waste fire confines 30,000 indoors
A French Civil Security Dash 8 firefighting aircraft drops fire retardant, while firefighters continue to battle a wildfire near Montfort-sur-Argens, near Correns, in the Var department, as drought conditions worsen following a heatwave and water shortages across much of France, August 1, 2026. REUTERS/Manon Cruz
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STRASBOURG, France: An industrial waste warehouse caught fire on Sunday (Aug 2) in France, authorities said, spewing foul smoke that gave residents headaches and caused authorities to briefly urge some 30,000 people to remain indoors.
The fire broke out in the northeastern village of Gandrange on Sunday morning, but was under control by the afternoon, local civil defence spokeswoman Geraldine Chambeaudie said. The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.
Local media reported the smoke was visible some 15 kilometres away in the city of Metz.
Amandine Vecchio, 34, said she was taken aback by the smoke when she left a cinema in the nearby town of Amneville.
“It smelled terrible, and gave me a headache straight away,” she said.
She said she told her eight-year-old daughter to place her stuffed toy in front of her mouth and nose, and rang her teenage son at home to tell him to bring their dog and cats inside and close the windows.
The mayor of the nearby village of Clouange, Clement Deriu, said the smoke was causing headaches.
“From what I have been told, it’s making people nauseous,” he added.
France has been rocked by a summer of wildfires, including the country’s largest blaze since 1949 that has ravaged some 42,000 hectares of land.
That fire in a pine forest near the winemaking capital of Bordeaux was under control on Sunday more than a week after it erupted, but firefighters continued to douse flames that were still active in several areas.
Last year, the World Meteorological Organization said wildfires can send a toxic mix of pollutants thousands of kilometres away.
It noted that, in 2024, smoke from wildfires in Canada caused air pollution even as far away as Europe.
Source: AFP/fs
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