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Wildfire in southwest France creates lightning, sparks new blazes
The fire near Saumos has burned over 420 sq km, damaged or destroyed more than 240 homes, and forced about 220,000 evacuations in Gironde.
A wildfire in southwest France intensified to the point that its smoke column formed a rare pyrocumulonimbus thunderstorm, producing lightning that struck the ground and sparked additional fires beyond the original blaze, French officials said.
French firefighters said the phenomenon was unprecedented in the country, noting that violent, erratic winds from the thundercloud helped drive flames into new directions.
The blaze erupted near Saumos on July 22 and has since burned more than 420 sq km of forests and scrubland, damaged or destroyed more than 240 homes, and forced 220,000 people to evacuate in Gironde.
According to the departmental fire and rescue service, it generated the pyrocumulonimbus at about 6:20 pm on Friday, two days after the fire began, then the cloud weakened overnight as humidity rose before forming again several times.