The ‘zombie fire’ in France that’s been burning since summer

After a massive wildfire in Bordeaux’s wine region spread to a disused mine containing combustible lignite, officials hoped seasonal rains would extinguish the still-smouldering embers – until the country experienced a record dry spell. Rick Noack reports

The house of resident Martine Leveque’s brother was destroyed in August (Washington Post/Laurence Geai/MYOP)

In the pine forest around Bordeaux, winter usually brings a respite for nature, with thick clouds carrying misty rain from the nearby Atlantic Ocean. After a historic heatwave, an extended drought and a “monster wildfire” wreaked havoc here in southwest France last summer, that seasonal soaking would have been especially welcome. But the reprieve has yet to arrive.

A touch of rain toward the end of February ended 32 consecutive days without any significant precipitation in France, the longest period since record-keeping began, in the 1950s, according to the public meteorological office. The country’s drought, though, is ongoing, hitting Bordeaux – historically among France’s rainiest parts – particularly hard. And the remnants of last summer’s monster, which ripped through the forest and forced tens of thousands to evacuate, are still burning.

Researchers and French officials say what’s known as a “zombie fire” is smoldering underground. It has spread to the site of a former lignite mine, inactive for decades, but with plenty of the highly combustible mineral remaining. Near the mine, the fire is visible as plumes of smoke. In one spot it reemerged with flames, requiring the attention of emergency crews last month.