Fontainebleau Forest Fire Burns 800 Hectares and Closes Highway Section Near Paris

A wildfire has burned 800 hectares in the Fontainebleau forest about 40 miles southeast of Paris and forced a partial closure of France's main north-south highway. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Monday that two people had been arrested in connection with the Fontainebleau blaze and 59 others across the country for fires.

He noted about 10 ignition points within a 1,000-meter perimeter, which suggests the fire could have been deliberately set.

Nunez told France 2's 8 PM News that the two arrests were for deliberate or accidental arson in the region. President Emmanuel Macron stated that the Fontainebleau forest had been struck by a fire of exceptional magnitude and that all available resources are being mobilized.

Firefighting planes were sent from the south of the country for the first time to tackle fires in the Paris region, along with two helicopters and an observation aircraft.

An earlier fire blocked a highway running east from Paris and disrupted a high-speed train line to the south of France. Travelers faced delays of up to six hours for trains at Paris's Gare de Lyon on Sunday evening, French rail company SNCF said. The Paris region is experiencing its third heatwave this year.

Julien Marion, director general of civil security, said wildfires have covered 25,000 hectares of land in France since the start of the year.