LA TESTE-DE-BUCH, France, July 25, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Around 100 Paris firefighters were being deployed Saturday to southwest France to help battle raging wildfires, the head of the Paris Fire Brigade told AFP.

Hundreds of firefighters have spent the past three days battling blazes in the southwestern department of Gironde, where the fires are particularly intense, as well as since Thursday near the town of Biscarrosse in the neighbouring department of Landes.

Arnaud de Cacqueray, commander of the Paris Fire Brigade, said the firefighters would primarily be involved in wildfire suppression operations.

He said 45 Paris firefighters and six vehicles had already been deployed to Gironde.

The wildfires in Gironde and Landes have forced the evacuation of more than 140,000 people and have already consumed 22,000 hectares (54,000 acres) of land.

De Cacqueray said he expected the deployment to have an impact on response times in Paris, adding people should contact firefighters in the capital "only in cases of absolute emergency".

Paris firefighters were previously sent to help combat devastating wildfires in southwestern France in 2022.

This time, however, the deployment is "nearly three times greater than what we deployed in 2022," de Cacqueray said.