Fontainebleau forest fire consumes 1,920 hectares near Paris as two arson suspects are arrested

Fire progression and scale

Two separate fires have been devouring the Fontainebleau forest, a UNESCO biosphere reserve and green lung of Paris, since Sunday afternoon. By Tuesday morning, the Seine-et-Marne fire service reported that 1,920 hectares had been scorched. Commander Paul-Édouard Laurain told AFP that the toll was likely to rise as the flames continued to advance. The first blaze ignited along the A6 autoroute, and a second erupted on Monday in the Faisanderie sector close to the town of Fontainebleau. Authorities warned that even once contained, fully extinguishing the fires will take several days or possibly weeks.

Evacuations and transport disruption

The fires forced the closure of the A6 highway linking Paris to Lyon and the south, while smaller blazes in the area interrupted high-speed train services. Around 900 people were evacuated from their homes, and a campsite on the forest's edge was cleared. The prefect of Seine-et-Marne, Pierre Ory, stated that everyone was working with a single goal: to contain the fire.

Arson investigation and arrests

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said investigators suspect the fires were set deliberately, after finding ten ignition points within a 1,000-metre perimeter. Two people have been arrested. One suspect is an 18-year-old male who was not previously known to police; he was detained with a lighter in his possession and soot on his hands. The Fontainebleau prosecutor's office is leading the criminal inquiry.

There were ten starting points in a perimeter of 1,000 metres.

Firefighting deployment and tactics

Nearly 850 firefighters were mobilised on the ground, backed by four Canadair aircraft, two Dash planes, and three water-bombing helicopters. In an unprecedented measure for the greater Paris region, the Canadairs skimmed water directly from the River Seine. Jean-Marc Sicard, the rescue operations commander, confirmed that 187 water drops were carried out on Monday. By nightfall, approximately 600 firefighters remained active, rotating shifts to attack the flames. On Tuesday morning, bulldozers from the army were being deployed to level access tracks in the forest's rugged terrain so ground crews could reach smoking perimeters.

The idea is to use them in places where access is a bit complicated, to level the tracks and then allow access to our vehicles so we can get as close as possible to the edges.

National and climatic context

France is sweltering through its third heatwave in under three months, with temperatures forecast to hit 36 degrees Celsius and very low humidity on Tuesday. Nunez reported that 32,000 hectares have burned in France already this year, surpassing the total for 2025, and warned of a probable record fire season driven by prolonged drought. Across the country, 59 people have been arrested on suspicion of starting fires, roughly half of them adults and half minors, with seven held in pre-trial detention. Scientists attribute the increasing frequency of such extreme weather episodes to human-driven climate change.

We'll probably have a record year. We expected this with this major drought.