In southwestern France, wildfires ravage the scene. Last month, firefighters managed to contain a fire burning over 14,000 hectares, but now they are contending with another burn near Bordeaux that’s scorching up to 7,400 hectares.
Over 1,000 firefighters have gathered to battle this monstrous fire. Despite all the support, firefighter Gregory Allione described the fires as “an ogre, it’s a monster.”
Images from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 show the fire is visible from outer space, with a prominent smoke trail marring the country and nearby ocean like a bad tattoo.
Over 10,000 residents have been forced to evacuate as their homes are gutted by the flames. Some were forced to retreat to their roofs to escape the approaching flames.
Nearby countries are sending their own firefighters to provide further assistance in the fight, including 65 German firefighters. Additional support is expected from Poland and Romania.
Further south, about 10,000 hectares of Portugal’s Serra de Estela region are burning. Spain, Italy, and Greece are also contending with their own fires.
July was France’s driest month since 1961, and this summer has been one of the hottest on record for all of Europe. Over 1,000 deaths in Spain and Portugal have been attributed to the extreme heat.
Along with the record temperatures, France has been experiencing a crippling drought. Parts of the famous Loire river are almost entirely dried up, yet, to many’s irritation, golf courses remain exempt from national water restriction laws.
In response to the drought, fires, and golf’s inane exception, French climate activists are taking to the greens with buckets of cement. One by one, they are filling the golf holes, digging up the grass, and leaving messages in their wake.
“This hole drinks 277,000 liters of water a day,” one reads. “Do you drink that much?”
While golf courses remain crisply green, French residents have faced massive drinking water shortages, as well as bans on washing cars, filling swimming pools, and watering lawns or gardens.
In fact, a 2002 French Senate report estimated that the annual water consumption of French golf courses was equivalent to the annual water consumption of 500,000 people.
However, the French Golf Federation is protesting the call to enforce laws on the greens. “A course without green is like an ice rink without ice,” French Golf Federation spokesperson Gérard Rougie said. “It will have to close.”
“Without water, the green will die in three days and it takes three months to regrow.”
The FGF further defended its position by explaining that they have made efforts to reduce its water usage, and have abided by local watering schedules.
Restriction implementation differs per region: while some locales are lenient, others are less so. In the Loire Valley region, officials have entirely banned the watering of golf courses.
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