France fire crews face searing heat in battle to contain flames

Crews fight heat and flames on decisive day in France wildfire battleTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be playedFigure caption, Planes dump water on French wildfires as temperatures riseByJames WaterhouseReporting fromGironde regionPublished21 minutes agoThe aerial cavalry of three Canadair aircraft flying overhead look as impressive as they sound.They arrive in formation, before sharply banking over towards the thick plume of black smoke ahead of us.Their individual payloads of more than 1,000 gallons of water are then dumped onto the flames below.A succession of helicopters then follows with their own streams of red fire retardant.Image source, EPAImage caption, A Canadair aircraft dropping water across a burning fireAs the smoke eases, firefighters then move into the forest on foot to try and contain the latest flare-up.They are the principal concern for the thousands of crews and volunteers combating the wildfires that have raged here for a week, forcing tens of thousands of residents and tourists to flee.As temperatures peak at around 40C, fires restarting on their own are a constant threat.After 20 minutes or so, the one we are watching is brought under control, only for another to suddenly emerge on the opposite side of the road."Leave now!" shouts an understandably irritable officer as he drives past. The smoke is becoming thicker and more aggressive. Indeed, time to leave.Such is the vast scale of the infernos ravaging France's south-western Gironde region, that it is not always obvious what direction the smoke is coming from.It simply descends as you travel west from Bordeaux along empty roads and through deserted villages.The soil is powder-like and covered in endless pinecones and dried leaves. It explains how the wildfires have spread at the rate they have.Image caption, Pierre Alexandre had refused to leave his bungalow when asked by firefighters"When [the police] said I had to leave...