Wildfire Burns 800 Hectares in Fontainebleau Forest and Partially Closes Highway South of Paris

A wildfire has burned across 800 hectares of the Fontainebleau forest about 40 miles southeast of Paris and partially closed France's main north-south highway. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Monday that two people had been arrested in connection with the blaze and that about 10 ignition points were found within a 1,000-meter perimeter.

Nunez told France 2 that the two arrests involved deliberate or accidental arson in the region and that 59 people had been detained nationwide for fire-related offenses.

President Emmanuel Macron said all available resources were being used to fight the Fontainebleau fire. An earlier fire blocked a highway running east from Paris and disrupted a high-speed train line to southern France. Travelers faced delays of up to six hours on trains arriving at or departing from Paris's Gare de Lyon on Sunday evening, according to SNCF.

Julien Marion, director general of civil security, said wildfires have covered 25,000 hectares of land in France since the start of the year. The current heatwave forced the temporary shutdown of three nuclear power stations to prevent discharge of warm water into overheated waterways, and organizers shortened a Tour de France stage by 30 kilometers as temperatures approached 40 degrees Celsius.