"Those who don't see it with their own eyes won't believe it": Czech pilot on battling the massive wildfire near Bordeaux

In southwestern France, near the city of Bordeaux, a massive wildfire has been raging for eight days, forcing at least 220,000 people to flee their homes. Meteorologists warn that temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius and dry winds will make the situation even worse in the coming days.

A Czech team is also taking part in the firefighting effort — seven crew members arrived last week aboard a Black Hawk helicopter. Module commander Captain Václav Novotný said he had never witnessed a fire of this scale before: "Even by European standards, this is truly a massive fire — for me, this is a first. Anyone who hasn't seen it with their own eyes simply can't imagine it."

According to the pilot, what makes the Bordeaux fire so unusual is its sheer size combined with the flat terrain, where forests lie close together, sometimes separated only by a road. With plenty of "fuel" and strong winds, the fire spreads extremely fast, and whenever the wind shifts direction, crews and equipment must regroup in a hurry.

The Czech team consists of two pilots, two flight engineers and three firefighters, operating a medium UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter fitted with a suspended "Bambi bucket" for water drops. In a single pass, the crew releases more than 10 cubic meters of water, flying alongside French and Slovak helicopters.

Besides aircraft, bulldozers on the ground are cutting so-called firebreaks — clearing trees and shrubs to create a gap between the fire and the areas it could spread to. In the air, Canadair and Air Tractor planes, along with larger aircraft dropping water mixed with retardant, are also involved.

Flying in these conditions carries serious risks: a constant column of hot air rises from the fire, making the helicopter harder to control, and flying into smoke risks stalling the engines — which is why pilots must always stay on the windward side of the blaze. On top of that, the Bambi bucket can get stuck underwater when drawing from quarries or freshwater lakes, requiring considerable pilot experience.

Captain Novotný recalled that on the very first day of the mission, the team had to make an emergency 30-kilometer flight to the outskirts of Bordeaux, where a new fire had broken out in a residential area. By the time they arrived, however, local firefighters had already brought the situation under control on the ground, and the helicopter had to turn back.

The Czech crew is now being redeployed from the Bordeaux area to Le Luc in Provence, where, according to the commander, they will join up with the Slovak team. Units from Germany are expected to take their place near Bordeaux.

The mission was originally planned to last five days, but it has since been extended: according to the latest information, the Czech firefighters will remain in France until at least August 3. After that, the helicopter is due to return to base for scheduled maintenance, after which it will once again be ready for deployment anywhere in Europe.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz