News · 27 July 2026
French wildfire near Bordeaux creates lightning storm, forcing evacuations
Photo by Ndumiso Mvelase on Pexels
A massive wildfire in France's Gironde region, near Bordeaux, has created a rare "pyrocumulonimbus" cloud, a fire-generated thunderstorm with its own winds and lightning. The unprecedented phenomenon has complicated efforts to control the blaze, which has burned 42,000 hectares and forced over 325,000 people to evacuate. French President Emmanuel Macron is holding a crisis meeting today as another heatwave is expected to hit the area.
Reported by BBC · How we write briefs